Computer and Library Learning (Archived)

Internet users are usually accustomed to accessing online content for free. Periodically, however, some websites will erect a paywall that requires payment for access to valued content. Some major newspaper websites have followed this path, including, most recently, the New York Times that began charging Canadians first (as a test group) on March 17, 2011 for access to articles beyond 20 free articles per month. The NYT paywall goes fully into effect on March 28, 2011. All print subscribers will get unlimited digital access but others going beyond accessing 20 free articles will be invited to pay for digital subscriptions ($15 per month via the internet and phone app, $20 per month for the internet and iPad app, and $35 per month for complete digital access).

The New York Times and other newspapers have tried this approach before with mixed success. In fact, a Canadian programmer from Kitchener, Ontario has already developed a program called NYTClean that prevents the paywall screen from loading into the web browser. Nonetheless, users can gain free access through clicking on links distributed by social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter. A Globe and Mail reporter found that users can also browse the New York Times for free, highlight and copy (Ctrl + C) the headline of an article, paste the headline (Ctrl + V) into a search engine, and click on the corresponding link to the New York Times article which can be read without charge. However, Google search engine places a free limit of five articles per day from the New York Times before users receive a payment prompt.

Some have expressed concern about paywalls exacerbating the information rich and poor divide on the internet whereby those who can afford to pay for access to information may or may not do so whereas those who cannot afford to pay are less likely to do so. Some have argued for variable pricing on the basis of ability to pay.

Sources:

CBC News, “N.Y. Times tests website fees on Canadians”, cbc.ca (Website), March 17, 2011. <http://www.cbc.ca/news/arts/story/2011/03/17/nytimes-digital-fee.html&gt;. Accessed March 22, 2011.

Girard, Alicia, “New York Times Implements Paywall: Is it the Best Response to Declining Revenues?”, Openmedia.ca (Website), March 17, 2011. <http://openmedia.ca/blog/new-york-times-implements-paywall-it-best-response-declining-revenues&gt;. Accessed March 22, 2011.

Greenslade, Roy, “Cheeky guide on how to jump paywalls”, Greenslade Blog, Guardian.co.uk (Website), March 18, 2011. <http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/greenslade/2011/mar/18/paywalls-new-york-times&gt;. Accessed March 22, 2011.

Hayes, David, “Work around New York Times 20 article limit”, euri.ca (Blog), March 21, 2011. <http://euri.ca/2011/03/21/get-around-new-york-times-20-article-limit/&gt;.  Accessed March 22, 2011.

Krashinsky, Susan, “N.Y. Times unveils pay wall: Canada first”, Globe and Mail, March 17, 2011. <http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/ny-times-unveils-pay-wall-canada-first/article1945653/page1/&gt; and <http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/ny-times-unveils-pay-wall-canada-first/article1945653/page2/&gt;. Accessed March 22, 2011.

Martin, Justin D., “Should News Paywalls Demand Less in Poorer Countries? The case for variable pricing”, Columbia Journalism Review (Website), March 16, 2011.

< http://www.cjr.org/the_news_frontier/should_news_paywalls_demand_le.php?page=all&gt;. Accessed March 22, 2011.

McCracken, Harry, “Can the New York Times Paywall Work? Analysis: The permeable paywall returns March 28 for the most voracious readers”, PCWorld.com, March 20, 2011. <http://www.pcworld.com/article/222621/can_the_new_york_times_paywall_work.html&gt;. Accessed March 22, 2011.

Peters, Jeremy W., “The Times Announces Digital Subscription Plan”, New York Times, March 17, 2011. <http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/18/business/media/18times.html&gt;. Accessed March 22, 2011.

Thompson, Derek, “Financial Times: NYT’s Paywall Will ‘Absolutely’ Work”, The Atlantic (website), March 18, 2011. <http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2011/03/financial-times-nyts-paywall-will-absolutely-work/72684/&gt;. Accessed March 22, 2011.

Wikipedia, “Paywall”. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paywall&gt;. Accessed March 22, 2011.

Wolfe-Wylie, William, “Canadian cracks NYT paywall”, Toronto Sun, March 22, 2011. <http://www.torontosun.com/money/2011/03/22/17714856.html&gt; Accessed March 22, 2011.