ANOTHER NEWSPAPER STRATEGY DOES A "TITANIC" – AT 6:41 P.M. ET:  Newsday is the dominant newspaper on Long Island, which is just east of New York City.  Recently it made a move to charge readers for its previously free online content.  And now (trumpets please) the result:

The paper was one of the first non-business newspapers to take the plunge by putting up a pay wall, so in media circles it has been followed with interest. Could its fate be a sign of what others, including The New York Times, might expect?

So, three months later, how many people have signed up to pay $5 a week, or $260 a year, to get unfettered access to newsday.com?

The answer: 35 people. As in fewer than three dozen. As in a decent-sized elementary-school class.

Now, it is true that people throughout America don't grow up with a deep wanting of Newsday.  The paper is today owned by a notably contentious family that has little experience in journalism, and continues to highlight Long Island news.

But the fact is that many papers want to put their content behind a "pay wall," and are looking to see if the Newsday experiment works.  So far it's been a major flop.   Look at the number – 35.  That's not a subscription base.  That's a chain letter.

One of the great things about the internet is that so much news reporting is provided free of charge.  The news organizations, presumably, collect their revenue from advertising and other forms of content.  The pay news sites that do work are business-oriented, like The Wall Street Journal. 

The New York Times will go "pay wall" sometime this year.  Last year they ended an experiment that forced readers to pay for favored columnists.  Apparently the columnists weren't that favored.  I'm guessing this new plan will fade away as well.

January 26, 2010