Posted on 01/04/2012 3:03:09 AM PST by afraidfortherepublic
The New York Times. The Wall Street Journal. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel?
Yes, Milwaukee’s scrappy newspaper of record is taking a cue from the big boys and entering the seedy world of paid online subscriptions. Beginning tomorrow, JSOnline readers looking to enjoy the paper’s Pulitzer Prize-winning material (and/or the latest musin’-and-thinkin’ column from Jim Stingl) will have to shell out some cash for the privilege. Non-subscribers will be able to view only 20 articles a month, after which they’ll be publicly scolded for contributing to the downfall of print media and for keeping food off of Eugene Kane’s table.
In a bit of marketing stealth that would make Facebook blush, the JS announced its delightfully named “Journal Sentinel Everywhere” service under the cover of media darkness, a.k.a. during the week between Christmas and New Year’s. Not that the paper is worried about a decrease in online traffic; according to WISN:
[Journal Sentinel Editor Marty] Kaiser said subscription-based newspapers such as the Wall Street Journal and New York Times saw a slight decline in online page views, but believes their new apps and digital products will help maintain their currently [sic] level of online traffic. He said many papers around the country have switched to the online subscription model with good results.
“Some have kept just as much traffic as they had before,” Kaiser said. “Some had maybe a 10 percent drop off in traffic. There’s still a lot of information you’ll be able to get on our website.”
Clearly, if people are willing to pay for a fly-by-night rag like The New York Times, they’ll certainly pay for full online access to the Packer Insider.
To be fair, the JS does have plenty of terrific features: Kane remains an entertaining and thoughtful provocateur; Mary Louise Schumacher is one of the best (and only) full-time art critics employed by a major newspaper; and Daniel Bice continues to carry the torch for the sadly dying art of investigative journalism. And then there are the site’s many sharp, erudite commenters, who have provided The A.V. Club with so much joy over the years. Sure, you can visit probably 900,000 free websites for clueless and thinly veiled racist comments, but wouldn’t you rather pony up a bit of dough for the real deal?
Wisconsin “Keeping Us Less Informed” Ping
The dying flagship newspaper of Wisconsin’s largest city has moved to paid subscriptions only — joining the NYTimes and the Wall Street Journal — further eroding its readership. We shall see how this goes.
If you want to be added to, or subracted from, this ping list for Wisconsin interests, just FReep Mail me.
While the New York Slimes Pay Wall is considered a “success” (how that is determined is not quite explained) the Slimes just announced a rather prohibitive increase in its daily per issue price, sort of belying any claim of success for online access. Anyway, there are several ways to get around the Slimes’ pay wall one of which is to simply delete your cookies if you reach the 20 article limit, which I’m sure would be just as effective in evading the JS Online’s very own pay wall as well.
Copy and paste article title into google search feature and it will find a free link.
The Honolulu Star Advertiser took this route too. Now, tens of thousands of issues are given away FREE on The Bus each day. It's the only way they can keep their official circulation numbers, and thus their ad rates, up.
We’ll see if they keep emailing me their news. I have a subscription (free) already. There has been no word whether they will grandfather us in. Probably not. Both the NYT and the WSJ eventually dropped me, but neither paper made an effort to get me to pay for my subscription, either.
Listening to them is like listening to a longtime hard narcotics addict as they irreversibly close in on the overdose that will kill them. :
"I can quit anytime I want."
I get the bulk of my news from FR and Drudge links. I am usually better informed and informed sooner than the local paper. However, I ship Kona coffee and Hawaiian chocolate to friends and family so those free papers come in handy as packaging material.
Pay them to get their continual barrage of Gov. Scott Walker-bashing articles? Naw.
OMG! They R CAPITALISTS! THOSE BASTARDS!
When I use private browsing, my computer forgets certain things, like how many times I visit news site each day. So I end up getting a fresh 20 looks several times a day. Pretty cool!
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