Posted on 09/14/2005 5:13:02 AM PDT by ovrtaxt
Come Monday, Sept. 19, fans of New York Times columnists Maureen Dowd, Paul Krugman, and David Brooks will have to break out their credit cards. Sept. 19 is the launch date of TimesSelect, a new subscription service designed to diversify the newspaper's revenue stream beyond traditional Web site advertising.
The popular Op-Ed columnists are the main selling point behind the $49.95 a year subscription. (The service will be free for the paper's home delivery subscribers). The paper's news, features, editorials, and analysis will remain free, as will interactive graphics, multimedia, and video.
TimesSelect subscribers will also have the ability to access up to 100 articles a month from the Times's 25-year digital archive. To sweeten the pot even further, the Times is offering a number of new services, including the ability to save and organize articles in a personal "Times File," an e-mail alert service, and early access to certain Sunday sections.
In an editor's letter posted Monday, NYTimes.com Editor Len Apcar called TimesSelect "an important step in the development of The New York Times."
But the move is not without its risks. The Times is likely to see a drop-off in page views, which advertisers covet, at least initially. But if successful, the move could embolden other publishers to begin experimenting with limited online subscription models.
An overview of TimesSelect offerings is available here.
Early response in the blogosphere was not positive. One popular blogger, John Aravosis at Americablog, predicted what many fans of Times' columnist might do: "People will still get copies of the articles, they'll still email them around the Net, some Web sites will still republish the entire articles illegally, and we'll end up linking to those sites instead of the New York Times (it ain't illegal to link)."
He added, commenting on "free" falling: "If the Times' idea catches on, this really could be the beginning of the end of the current state of Internet news."
Pay for maureen dowd and paul krugman? LOLOLOLOLOLOL!!
They'd have to pay me! No, wait a minute. They couldn't pay me enough money to get me to read either one of them! LOLOL!
Except in NYC and Boston where the standard is MUCH lower than it is in the rest of the country.
If a columnist writes an op-ed you have to pay to read, does it make a sound? When was the last time anyone cared about a Salon article?
Glad their putting these Slimes loons "behind bars" so to speak. I wish them all the financial success they deserve.
I think the New York Times has hit on the next big idea in modern media -- the use of on-line subscriptions to launder money and circumvent campaign finance restrictions.
This is great. It will help to slow the spread of leftist propaganda.
LOL! To think of paying good money for Mo or Navel-gazer Brooks...
Hmmm. You think? The IRS has ways of tracking that, right?
MEMO TO THE TIMES:
ALL YOUR COLUMNS ARE BELONG TO US.
HUGS AND KISSES,
FREE REPUBLIC
Sure, but the IRS would have a hard time making the case that any laws were violated. And in the case of campaign finance rules, I couldn't think of an easier way for a candidate or political party to use these subscriptions to circumvent the rules.
Drudge is going to pull their links...
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1484167/posts
LOL!! Yeah that's a good one. The NYT setting the standard for internet news!! Next thing you know Hyundai will be setting the standards in the NASCAR rules committee!!
LOL!
Hmmmm...Interesting...
Compare this to Dow Jones / Wall Street Journal who publish the Opinion Journal (give away opinions) while charging for information (WSJ online is subscription-based)...seems the NYT believes that its online readers value its opinion over the actual news it provides...
Electronic Err America.
Hiding behind subscribers will not protect them from scrutiny.
Good point. Didn't think of it that way.
Will they also require pay to view the corrections page? Often, one can find almost entire Krugman columns there soon after the original publication. Or you can find them at NR where they have a space dedicated to ridiculing Krugman and others almost line by line.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.