The End of Free News?

From WalletPop:

The end of free news?

Jo Robinson

I'll admit that I'm a bit of a snob when it comes to news. I enjoy a good read of the paper at the weekend with a big mug of tea - but I'm picky about which paper. When I was studying for my journalism course I had to read The Sun for research purposes. I was so ashamed that I hid it behind my copy of the Guardian on the tube.

Reading the papers does seem like an old-fashioned luxury these days though and plenty of people just aren't prepared to pay for the privilege. Many of us will just catch up on the news online in our lunch breaks at work. Plus with all the freesheets available now, you can get your news fix for nothing.

Trouble is, with advertising revenue falling fast, newspapers are looking to make money elsewhere. Rupert Murdoch's News Corp which owns The Sun, The Times, the New York Times and The Wall Street Journal has announced plans to start charging surfers to view its online news pages. It certainly sounds like a desperate measure.

Frankly it's going to reduce the number of readers, because people just won't be prepared to pay. And what can these publications really offer online to justify the charge?

The Financial Times charges people to view articles online, and has set up monthly subscriptions. I'd argue that this works because of the specialist nature of that publication. Surely for more general papers, people are just going to go elsewhere for their news. Plus, if you have to pay for the stuff online, I'd much rather spend the money on a paper and enjoy the good old-fashioned feel of print between my fingers.

So what do you think? Would you pay to read the news online, or just find a free version elsewhere? How much better would the paid for websites have to be for you to pay?