Paying for digital newspapers

[Deleted]

I'm posting this here since it is more about reading than anything else. Lots of newspaper websites have required paid subscriptions for a long time, but now the New York Times has finally started the deal as well.

We are now allowed to read 20 articles a month free of charge before being cut off.

However, one good thing to know is that whenever a search engine or link takes us to a New York Times article, it does not count in the quota and remains accessible even to people who have reached their limit.

I find it hard to believe that they will keep this up forever, since quite often I choose NYT articles out of the Google News lists, so it won't help their revenue all that much.

Is anybody here paying to read things online? I would like to know if they still ram advertising down your throat when you do. Complete freedom from the ads would be about the only thing that might encourage me to pay for something.

[bjd]

I will get the NYTimes online free because I subscribe to the IHT. I rarely bother to look at the website, but will do so soon to let you know whether there are tons of ads or not.

And, no, I don't pay to read anything online.

[fumobici]

Didn't know that about the free access to NYT articles via links, that's good although I find the NYT's right wing bias annoying. I can't honestly understand how it got a reputation as a lefty paper- it isn't. My current favorite international online news source is Al Jazeera's English language site or the La Reppublica site for Italian news although the La Reppublica site is a bit trashy compared to the excellent print version. I think the quality of the reportage and analysis on Al Jazeera is often at a higher level than the mainstream Western media, a fact which surprised me a lot the first few times I went there half expecting it to be somewhat biased or unprofessional.

[Deleted]

I subscribe to Libération so I have full access to their site. There are some ads, but only in a thin right side column that my eye filters out.

[bixaorellana]

I get the NYTimes in my inbox because I was always happy with that headline format when it comes as email. It really didn't matter whether I read the NYT article or not, since the headlines alerted me to news that I might want to follow up. However, as soon as they sent me the notice that the freebie rug was about to be pulled, I ran to the various other online papers to which I've subscribed over time. This reassured me that I won't be missing much (except for the good format) when I'm deprived of NYT.

I guess I'd only pay if that were the absolute only way to get online news.

[Deleted]

I am still eliminating one newspaper after another as they require paid subscriptions. The NYT now allows only 10 free articles per month, but it is still not a problem when I see what I want to read and then go to Google News to get access through a link.

[Deleted]

It also works if you make a google search for the same wording as the headline on the page you want to see. I've been able to access NYT and the Globe and Mail that way. The only paper I've found that doesn't allow access through this back door is The Independent.