NYT Pay Plan and Why It’s A Good Idea
The people who are huge Times readers/fans will pay - and yes, the web design IS worth paying for because it helps you understand and get to information, especially on or through topics pages. People are interested in a certain topic, story or genre are going to keep coming back.
Beyond that, one thing this does, whether Times execs realize it or not, is this plan gets readers conditioned to understand and believe that content is not and should not be free, and it is indeed valuable - meaning it is something they should pay for. But it does so gently, without alienating readers or hitting them with a hard and fast paywall, denying access to all or some content immediately. If the content’s worth it, as high-end niche mags have shown, people will understand that content is worth paying for, and they’ll come to think of it as just another usual, regular, normal cost of living, like a $3 latte, like a $120-a-month cable subscription, like an $11.50 movie ticket (which still seems outrageous but I pay it every time.)
My triumphant return to the blog. So busy with statehouse reporting.
