'The New York Times' paywall: Will it work?

The Grey Lady announces its long-awaited, much-fretted-over plan to charge for unlimited access to its website. Will readers pay up?

Beginning on March 28, New York Times readers can access 20 articles online for free but if they want more it will cost them at least $15 per month.
(Image credit: CC BY: Russell Bernice)

On Thursday morning, The New York Times announced the details of a much-debated paywall for its industry-leading website. Beginning today in Canada, and on March 28 around the world, users can read up to 20 articles a month for free on the Times' site; to read more stories that month, they must pay a flat fee of $15 for unlimited access on their computers and smartphones (free, limited access "resets" at the beginning of each month). As this labyrinthine FAQ makes clear, there are some exceptions: Print subscribers do not have to pay an additional fee to access the website, and links that readers follow through Twitter and other social-media sites will not count toward the limit. Still, the policy presents a stark choice for many readers: Will they pay for news online?

The paywall is doomed to fail: "This won't work," says Cory Doctorow at Boing Boing. First of all, with the paywall's confusing social-media policy, "no one will be able to figure out" what counts toward the monthly limit. The paywall will also reduce the Times' influence online, since news outlets and individuals will not want to link to a website that blocks non-paying readers. Beyond that, the new restrictions don't give the right impression to the site's casual users. A policy that makes them out to be freeloaders is "no way to convert a reader to a customer."

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