The NY Times made a smart move this week when it decided to stop charging fees for TimesSelect (premium content)--op-ed columns, archives, and others--on its website. I hope management will not revert back to the subscription model. I think advertising is the best way to go for online news sites. Currently, 13 million users visit nytimes.com per month. I am sure they will see an exponential growth in the number of people accessing it.
A lot of influential people, not to mention millions of the educated middle class, from all over the world read the online NY Times. I am glad that those who can't afford to pay the subscription fees will now be able to read the enlightening op-ed pieces of the Times' smart, unique, and award-winning columnists. WE need more of them to spread the message of peace, moderation, compassion, freedom and justice to the rest of the world.
I queried Mr. Jonathan Landman, managing editor of the NY Times, asking him to explain the thinking behind the move to stop charging fees for nytimes.com. Here's what he said:
Dear Dr. Rosales,
Is the paid subscription model a thing of the past for online newspapers?
1. I'm pretty humble about predicting the future. If I could do that I'd be wildly wealthy and we wouldn't be having this conversation! The Internet is still young and things change fast -- something that works today might fail tomorrow, and vice versa. So let's not write any obits for paid news content. Let's just say that, in most cases, the economics of today's web don't favor it.
What are the new realities (facts) on the ground about the way people access your site? Is paid advertising the way to go for online news sites to make money?
2. There's a new reality every week and there are some different ways to make money. Content can be syndicated, for example, and people will pay for some things (an example from our site: Crossword puzzles). And there are different kinds of advertising -- display, cost-per-click, etc. For us, display advertising pays most of the bills.
Best,
Jon Landman
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