New York Times Ends Its Paid Subscription Service

[EV_Ares]

The New York Times has announced that it will end its paid Internet service in favor of making most of its Web site available for free. The hope is that this move will attract more readers and higher advertising revenue. 'The longer-term problem for publishers like the Times is that they must find ways to present content online rather than just transferring stories and pictures from the newspaper. Most U.S. news Web sites offer their contents for free, supporting themselves by selling advertising. One exception is The Wall Street Journal which runs a subscription-based Web site. TimesSelect generated about $10 million in revenue a year. Schiller declined to project how much higher the online growth rate would be without charging visitors.'"

Slashdot: http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/09/18/0429250&from=rss

[Crazy Dave]

1. That's great news

I've always wanted to get a paid subscription but never did. I'll make sure to visit their site often and make sure that if I need anything that one of their advertisers sells to use their link.

[wake.up.america]

2. Great news!!!

[Swamp Rat]

3. YAAY!!!

:bounce:

:patriot:

[FormerDittoHead]

4. About time. Now do I still have to have a username + password?

After seeing Google's valuation go for BILLIONS, they finally caught on.

Good going, Times. Your intelligence has finally caught up with your elitism.

[Vinca]

5. Yippee! I'll go back. nt

[qdemn7]

6. Terriffic!!

I get a daily email of the their headlines and columns. Always wanted to read Bob Herbert's columns, but was not going to pay to do so. Now I will.

[rodeodance]

7. so do I but it was still maked as Times select and I tried but could not get in.

[rodeodance]

8. umm..says her you need hard copy delivery first:

How do I begin my free access to TimesSelect?
To gain free access to TimesSelect, please verify your newspaper delivery subscription with either your account number or your credit card number by first clicking on your newspaper button below.
To get started, select the newspaper you currently subscribe to:

You may enjoy free TimesSelect access as long as you continue home delivery. A few exceptions apply — see if you qualify below, or visit our FAQ for more information.
Who is eligible to get TimesSelect for free?
Home delivery subscribers to The New York Times newspaper, including subscribers to the Book Review and Large Print Weekly YES
3-days-per-week or more subscribers to The International Herald Tribune YES
Readers of The New York Times who do not have home delivery subscriptions

[Loge23]

10. I do get hard copy and still got locked out

I was able to read Times Select when it first came out until a couple of months ago.
After numerous attempts to re-enter my information (it comes up on my account page just fine), I have been unable to access the Select pages. Requests for help are met by the copy above.
It's about time they did this.

[DeepModem Mom]

9. It doesn't end until midnight tonight (Tuesday). nt

[Jacobin]

11. Ha.

:rofl:

[Vinnie From Indy]

12. It was a dumbass idea to begin with

It didn't take a rocket scientist to understand that the pay wall/subscription idea was a huge mistake.