InformationWeek > E-Business > New York Times To Begin Charging For Some Opinion Pieces > May 18, 2005 — Are these people lunatics? This is crazy talk.
NEW YORK (AP)–The New York Times Co.’s decision to charge for online access to Op-Ed and news columnists should not be seen as a first step toward placing even more articles behind a subscription wall, a Times executive said Tuesday.
Martin Nisenholtz, senior vice president for the Times’ digital operations, said the newspaper settled on charging for columnists after a “very robust discussion inside the company.”
There are always libraries, where one may read the print sections at one’s leisure….
I think this is a great idea. It will ensure that even fewer people read NYT opinion columns. Put another nail in the coffin of the Gray Lady.
I noticed that they were charging for old Krugman columns. Somehow I don’t think they are going to sell too many single columns for $3! (3 times more than an iTunes song!) Instead of using their site I get the full text from my ProQuest subscription if I really want it.
One thing the article didn’t mention is that the Wall Street Journal also charges $3 for articles older than 90 days on top of the yearly online subscription rate.
Just a note to say that the Globe and Mail (closest thing we have in
Canada to the NYT) moved its columnists and a significant amount of
other stuff behind a subscripton wall some time ago, sigh. I think it’s
crazy, too, especially on days when I buy their paper at a newstand. I
then have to pay twice if I want to see the same context online.
You’re getting the archives too, and they might share subscription money with bloggers that link to them.
It’s all about $$$ to American media. See this item (published today) from Mike Little: http://tinyurl.com/7e22f
Does anyone remember when NEWS was objective, clear, concise, informative and actually served a purpose beyond entertainment or spin like in the days of Walter Cronkite? Is there any media outlet today that provides “just the facts” today that is available for the mass market (meaning no points of view or opinions)?