New York Times considering charging for online content

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 14 May 2009 2:23 User comments (11)

Following media mogul Rupert Murdoch's note that he may begin charging for online content for all newspapers in his empire, the New York Times has begun floating the same idea.

The Times has been hit particularly hard by the global recession as well as the decline in ad revenue for traditional media, and over the past five years has seen its stock price drop 90 percent. Currently, the NYT does not charge for online access to its content, but asks all guests to register one time.

In 2006, the company started the TimesSelect service, which forced users to pay extra to access archives and opinion columns but the service was a failure and in late 2007 the entire site was re-opened for everyone, free of charge.

A NYT staff writer, Jennifer Lee, via her Twitter page has discussed what occurred during a meeting with shareholders and explains that the company is currently "exploring a new online financial strategy" that would implement membership levels. Each level would have different access to content with obviously the most expensive having full access to the entire site.

Perhaps more notably, is the company's reflection on the failed TimesSelect service. They believe the service itself was sound (had over 500,000 subscribers) but failed because of poor marketing strategy. TimesSelect to make a comeback in 2009?

<AT&T rationalizes blocking SlingPlayer from 3G network >House committee votes 21-9 in favor of new radio royalties

11 user comments

114.5.2009 03:57

ZippyDSM

Send private message to this user

AfterDawn Addict

You can do that if you want less people reading it online, put in more ads, forced 5 second adds between pages is better than being forced to pay 60$ a year for 1 fcking site..... now if it was 5-10$ a year and I gave a damn I could pay it.... but 99% of the time each site wants 30-70$ a year..... which is to much for web content.

214.5.2009 04:20

varnull

Inactive

chicago tribune is free XD

314.5.2009 05:30

Lothros

Send private message to this user

Junior Member

As is the BBC (and it will always will be as it is funded by UK Taxes). I know all you Yanks might not like going to a British site (and you will be denied a little bit of video content, boo hoo), but the BBC is the only Company I know who is required by law to actually be impartial. After all, Fox recently Proved it's not against the law to lie about the news. After that, I'd seriously not trust anything I read from a US site, even one as reputable as the times.

414.5.2009 06:05

iamgq

Send private message to this user

Junior Member

Originally posted by Lothros:
As is the BBC (and it will always will be as it is funded by UK Taxes). I know all you Yanks might not like going to a British site (and you will be denied a little bit of video content, boo hoo), but the BBC is the only Company I know who is required by law to actually be impartial. After all, Fox recently Proved it's not against the law to lie about the news. After that, I'd seriously not trust anything I read from a US site, even one as reputable as the times.

You Yanks? Did you crawl out of a cave or something? Havent heard that in years hahahahhaaaaaa. MARDY ITS THE FLUX CAPACITER! I live in Europe by the way.
Anyways why would anyone from Europe read U.S news at a daily baisis? I give a d@mn what happens in the North or South Pole.
Jounalist put some work in to their work, they need to eat just like us and its a cent they worked for.

514.5.2009 12:06

SProdigy

Send private message to this user

Senior Member

Media can spin things however they want. For example:

In a "X" poll, "Media Outlet A" reports that 50% of people said the glass is half empty.

In the same "X" poll, "Media Outlet B" reports that 50% of people said the glass is half full.

See my point?

Beyond that, there is something called the Associated Press, and outside of local news, most stories are pulled from the AP. The only difference from paper to paper may be the editing of said article. Perhaps Paper A has 4 inches to devote to the story while Paper B has a different/larger AP photo and can only fit 3 inches of the story.

HOWEVER... online, this is typically not the case, and you can grab many of the AP stories from MSNBC.com, FOX, CNN, etc. If you tune to your local newscast on TV (or DVR it) there's not an entire need for the physical paper anymore. I can even get my local classified section online for FREE nowadays.

614.5.2009 12:11

Stu_dent

Send private message to this user

Newbie

Quote:
Following media mogul Rubert Murdoch's note

Surely it is Rupert Murdoch lol

714.5.2009 12:26

tefarko

Send private message to this user

Junior Member

good luck for them... I even stay away from sites that require logging and some other personal info...

814.5.2009 14:51

DVDBack23

Send private message to this user

Staff Member

Quote:
Quote:
Following media mogul Rubert Murdoch's note
Surely it is Rupert Murdoch lol

Indeed, Mr. Murdoch would not have been happy with my typo. Edited ;)

914.5.2009 16:42

ZippyDSM

Send private message to this user

AfterDawn Addict

Originally posted by Lothros:
As is the BBC (and it will always will be as it is funded by UK Taxes). I know all you Yanks might not like going to a British site (and you will be denied a little bit of video content, boo hoo), but the BBC is the only Company I know who is required by law to actually be impartial. After all, Fox recently Proved it's not against the law to lie about the news. After that, I'd seriously not trust anything I read from a US site, even one as reputable as the times.

To true to true.

Quote:
Lothros (Newbie) 14 May 2009 2:30 _
As is the BBC (and it will always will be as it is funded by UK Taxes). I know all you Yanks might not like going to a British site (and you will be denied a little bit of video content, boo hoo), but the BBC is the only Company I know who is required by law to actually be impartial. After all, Fox recently Proved it's not against the law to lie about the news. After that, I'd seriously not trust anything I read from a US site, even one as reputable as the times.

News is news US news is rich in fake reactions and placid entertainment the BBC is still a bit more hard newish even those little by little its jumping on the fou news bandwagon...

Quote:
Quote:
Following media mogul Rubert Murdoch's note
Surely it is Rupert Murdoch lol

Duncha mean Ruarrrgggert Murdoch.
:P

This message has been edited since its posting. Latest edit was made on 14 May 2009 @ 4:43

1014.5.2009 16:54

varnull

Inactive

Originally posted by Lothros:
As is the BBC (and it will always will be as it is funded by UK Taxes). I know all you Yanks might not like going to a British site (and you will be denied a little bit of video content, boo hoo), but the BBC is the only Company I know who is required by law to actually be impartial. After all, Fox recently Proved it's not against the law to lie about the news. After that, I'd seriously not trust anything I read from a US site, even one as reputable as the times.

WRONG .. I am forced to pay £145 a year to the BBC under penalty of being criminalised for not having a "license" to have a tv in the house.

It's not a tax on income.. it is a blanket tax paid to a private company per household.. unfair and unjust. Even if I decide to never watch bbc programs or channels I still have to pay them to watch the advertising paid free to air channels.. Is that right? NO .. is there a bloody thing we can do about it?.. NO.. it's a disgrace.

The bbc are a state censored mouthpiece3.. if you lived in the UK you would know that the only way to find out what goes on here you need to watch euronews or sky news... the bbc can't be trusted.

1114.5.2009 18:05

Lothros

Send private message to this user

Junior Member

Ok, Euronews, yes. Sky News, No. Sky news = Fox News with smarter sounding anchors

Comments have been disabled for this article.

	Android 16 will launch sooner than expected (01 Nov 2024 6:45) Google announced that upcoming Android 16 will break the traditional once-a-year cycle of major Android launches. Next Android is poised to launch in Q2 of 2025, so Android 16 should ship before end of June, 2025.
	Winamp ends its "open source" project that wasn't really open source (20 Oct 2024 11:12) Less than a month after the legendary MP3 player Winamp made its source code public, the company has made a sudden U-turn and removed its code from distribution. 2 user comments
	Winamp released its source code - but didn't go open source (25 Sep 2024 12:38) The source code of Winamp has now been officially released. However, it hasn't become a pure open-source project, as its licensing terms prohibit the creation of new, different versions.
	Does your phone rattle? Here's why it happens (25 Aug 2024 8:30) When you shake your phone and hear a light rattle, clatter, or jingle, it's likely not broken. The culprit is probably the optical image stabilization (OIS) system in your phone's camera, meaning everything is functioning as it should. 2 user comments
	CEO of Messaging App Telegram Arrested in France (25 Aug 2024 7:12) French authorities have detained Pavel Durov, CEO of the messaging service Telegram, amidst an ongoing investigation to determine whether Telegram moderates its platform adequately. 1 user comment

	Guide: Phone battery drains quickly - how to fix (iPhone / Android) In this guide, we go through the most typical reasons for rapid battery drain with phones, and look at potential reasons or solutions.
	What happens if you don't update Android? Sometimes it can be tempting to avoid updating to a new Android version. What happens if you decide to delay major updates to the OS?
	GUIDE: Wi-Fi speeds are slow? Here are some tips Having problems with Wi-Fi speed and stability at home? Here are some tips to follow to alleviate the issues. 1 user comment
	Guide: Is Your Wi-Fi Sluggish or Slow? Here's How to Fix Do you have problems with you Wi-Fi? Slow connection or is it cutting off constantly? This guide aims to remedy these problems. 1 user comment
	What IP rating for dust and water resistance means An IP classification (such as IP68) is given to mobile phones, Bluetooth speakers, and other devices, but what do these classifications mean? 1 user comment

New York Times considering charging for online content

11 user comments

Latest news

Reviews

Guides

News archive

Subscribe

Sections:

Follow us:

	Roborock S8 MaxV Ultra review - obstacle avoidance doesn't work as it should, otherwise almost perfect robot vacuum We put the Roborock S8 MaxV Ultra through a very, very long review process. The $1800 mopping robot vacuum is almost perfect, but its obstacle avoidance was surprisingly bad, considering the price - and compared to its competitors.
	Sharge x OnePlus Pouch review: Beautiful power bank that supports SuperVOOC charging In our review, we take a look at Sharge's power bank that supports OnePlus SuperVOOC quick charging technology as well as standard USB PD charging. It has small design flaws, but despite those, the Pouch is very nice product. 1 user comment
	Roomba Combo j7+ review - Clever trick allows robot vacuum finally to tackle home with rugs and carpets Roomba Combo j7+ is the very first Roomba model to combine robot vacuum with mopping features. And Roomba Combo j7+ does all that with a very clever trick, which tackles the problem with mopping and carpets. But is it any good? We found out.