Pony Up

NYT Pay-per-View?

Paper may announce online subscription system.

After months of debate among top editors and executives at the newspaper, The New York Times is ready to announce in a few days it will start charging online readers for content, New York magazine reports. The paper will likely adopt a metered system, allowing casual readers to view a small number of articles for free, but charging a subscription to regular readers—a move that aims to maintain the Times’ huge global reach of 20 million unique visitors. Some argue that the paper should keep the site free and capitalize on its huge audience when online advertising matures. Others contend that online ads might never make enough money to pay for its expensive ambitious reporting. The announcement could come at the end of January, but the Gray Lady wouldn’t start charging for a few months.