Times Select
The NY Times will start a subscription requirement for their editorial page Monday. While this is presented as a revenue matter, I think it can be argued that the Times is wanting to make it more expensive to ridicule many of their writers like Paul Krugman and Maureen Dowd. These two have replaced Robert Fisk of the UK Independent as the piniatas of the blog world. Fisk was so bad that his name has been given to posts that are critical of material written by the wackier members of the left. The Independent decided to start charging people for the privelege of making fun of Fisk's material and juding by the number of posts about his stuff lately no one subscribed. The same may happen to the NY Times, which also has to deal with the fact that many of its op-ed columnist are syndicated and available in other papers.
Apparently the most profitable online publication is the Wall Street Journal, which charges for most of its content but makes its opinion columns available without charge at OpinionJournal.com. It looks like the Times decided to do the opposite of what the most profitable publication has done. That tells you something about their business judgment. It may also tell you something about their editorial judgement.
The NY Times will start a subscription requirement for their editorial page Monday. While this is presented as a revenue matter, I think it can be argued that the Times is wanting to make it more expensive to ridicule many of their writers like Paul Krugman and Maureen Dowd. These two have replaced Robert Fisk of the UK Independent as the piniatas of the blog world. Fisk was so bad that his name has been given to posts that are critical of material written by the wackier members of the left. The Independent decided to start charging people for the privelege of making fun of Fisk's material and juding by the number of posts about his stuff lately no one subscribed. The same may happen to the NY Times, which also has to deal with the fact that many of its op-ed columnist are syndicated and available in other papers.
Apparently the most profitable online publication is the Wall Street Journal, which charges for most of its content but makes its opinion columns available without charge at OpinionJournal.com. It looks like the Times decided to do the opposite of what the most profitable publication has done. That tells you something about their business judgment. It may also tell you something about their editorial judgement.
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