Wow, the New York Post was actually correct for once.
New York Times Drops Web-Site Fees - WSJ.com:
New York Times Co. said it would drop its paid TimesSelect service, which charged a fee for online access to certain New York Times columnists, and make the vast majority of its Web site -- and archives -- available free.
The move comes two years after the Times introduced the subscription service, an effort to generate an additional revenue stream. But the revenue was relatively modest, and the publisher believes the revenue it is giving up will be more than offset by the additional ad revenue it can generate by broadening the site's audience.
The decision highlights a conundrum for newspaper publishers, which are struggling to increase the revenue from their online businesses amid steep declines in print revenue industrywide. It also shows how difficult it is for Web sites to start charging for content previously available free
...
TimesSelect had caused dissatisfaction among some columnists, who complained they were losing readership and influence. TimesSelect had blocked access to 23 columnists. "We are happy that they will be happy now, but that's not why we did this," said Ms. Schiller. "This was a business decision."
The move will take effect tomorrow. The Times will make available free the past 20 years of the paper's archives as well as its archives from 1851 to 1922. The paper will still charge for archives between 1923 and 1986.
well, there goes some of my site traffic
Kidding, I would never steal from Tom Friedman's mouth. Ewww.
