As of today, I will no longer be making sure to check the New York Times' website every morning. They have now taken all their op-ed content and locked it behind a $50/year gateway called Times Select - although they've added some incentives I don't find them valuable enough to justify $50 just to see the op-ed and sports columns. I fully expect readership to decline somewhat as a result, even if revenue starts to go up. The shame of it is that most columns are about a paper's trying to extend their voice and influence to a wider sphere - the nitty-gritty of news coverage is what I think would drive subscriptions.
If anything, going to this model is likely to weaken the Times' voice right when it needs to be heard loudest. The paper of record may not be such much longer.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment