News junkies beware! The paywalls are coming!

[KamaAina]

Here's what hit me in the face as I searched for news of my former employers:

https://gateway.staradvertiser.com/publishers_letter.php

Beginning Aug. 3, we will be introducing charges for digital subscriptions for those who do not subscribe to the print edition. In doing so, we will join a growing number of small and large newspaper companies across the country that have taken this step, including the New York Times, the Dallas Morning News and the Omaha World-Herald. A recent University of Missouri survey found that at the papers in the United States that don't charge for online news content, only 15 percent had no plans to charge in the near future.

:scared:

So now I'm supposed to subscribe to every single paper in every place I have ever lived, or plan to visit?! In my case, that'd be at least ten. Not gonna happen.

[Shandris]

1. Gotta control that information!

Can't have people reading about other locales now, can we? MONEYMONEYMONEYMONEYMONEYMONEY!

[WinkyDink]

2. They will lose $$ on both ends now.

[DJ13]

3. Are these websites going to eliminate advertising?

If I was an advertiser on one of these news sites I would get them to slash my advertising fees since the number of visitors will decline rapidly when the user base shrinks to just paying subscribers.

[laundry_queen]

5. No kidding. This is extremely short sighted.

Even if a subscription is 'cheap' ($1 a month) they would lose a large number of visitors. Think about all the free sites that require registration. How many times do you just click away? I'd wager these websites make far more on advertising than they'll ever make on a subscription based site. Dumb move.

[CBGLuthier]

4. Cold Turkey is gonna hurt but my cheap ass will only support an advertising revenue model

[Octafish]

6. So? No one will read their swill.

There are fewer and fewer subscribers for their print versions, too.

Not gonna happen for me, either, KamaAina.

[dixiegrrrrl]

7. OUR paper has a worse model.

It charges for BOTH the print AND the online edition. You get to pay twice. (if you are dumb enough to).
and this is a small town WEEKLY!

Problem is, we have the print edition because we give it to our next door neighbor when we are done.
No way am I going to pay to see it online.

The Dallas Morning news is free online, still, btw.

[madrchsod]

12. so does mine...

owned by a republican family for close to 100 yrs.

[KurtNYC]

8. Seems like a big opportunity for new media

The print newspaper business model is dead. Readership continuing decades of decline. If they charge advertisers AND readers the readers will walk away. This is the middle of the end for newspapers.

The winners will be ad supported new media (internet).

[SmileyRose]

9. Wait, I'm supposed to PAY to read about rapes, murders and RW opinion?

No thanks.

[Newest Reality]

10. Bad move, or

a good one, perhaps?

why pay for what is largely corporate filtering and propaganda? It is not worth the paper or the digits.

[no_hypocrisy]

11. Know what? I'll read online international papers and get the truth of what's going on as a bonus.