I always make it a point to glance at The New York Times online edition. But according to reports, including this one in Ad Age, some content including prominent columnists will only be available to subscribers who fork out $50 a year. (I’m sorry, that’s $49.95.)
This is just the latest in the growing media trend in the US: consumers are being asked more and more to subsidize the media, when advertisers used to be the dominant supporters. What’s more, net users are often being asked to shell out cash for a site that started out as free.
I simply don’t know how many people will pay for NYT access, on top of other services that require monthly or annual fees, like NetFlix, eHarmony.com, Classmates.com, Sirius, XM Radio, TiVo, etc. Oh, and your internet DSL bill.
While I enjoy reading some of the news on the Times (which will stay free), I can live without the rest and I won’t likely pay for it. Sooner or later, consumers will feel the pinch–and so will all these new media outlets.
