Taking a step that has tempted and terrified much of the newspaper industry, the New York Times announced on Wednesday that it would charge some frequent readers for access to its Web site — news that drew ample reaction from media analysts and consumers, ranging from enthusiastic to withering.
Starting next January, a visitor to NYTimes.com will be allowed to view a certain number of articles free each month; to read more, the reader must pay a flat fee for unlimited access. Subscribers to the print newspaper, even those who subscribe only to the Sunday paper, will receive full access to the site without any additional charge.
Executives of The New York Times Co said they wanted to create a system that would have little effect on the millions of occasional visitors to the site, while trying to cash in on the loyalty of more devoted readers. But fundamental features of the plan have not yet been decided, including how much the paper will charge for online subscriptions or how many articles a reader will be allowed to see without paying.
“This announcement allows us to begin the thought process that’s going to answer so many of the questions that we all care about,” said Arthur Sulzberger Jr, the Times Co chairman and publisher of the newspaper. “We can’t get this halfway right or three-quarters of the way right. We have to get this really, really right.”
For years, publishers banked on a digital future supported entirely by advertising, dismissing online fees as little more than a formula for shrinking their audiences and ad revenue. But two years of plummeting advertising has many of them weighing anew whether they might collect more money from readers than they would lose from advertisers.
Financial analysts and writers who follow the media business had mostly qualified praise for the decision. NYTimes.com is the most popular newspaper site in the US, with more than 17 million readers a month, Nielsen Online says. Analysts say it is the leader in advertising revenue, as well, giving the Times more to lose if the move backfires.
Thousands of readers sent e-mail messages to the Times or posted comments on the site on Wednesday, with those supporting the move outnumbered by others who vowed not to pay.
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