Quite often on here, usually on the political threads, a link will be posted to the NYT or Washington Post or the New Yorker and I will be dutifully click and see that I have "two free articles left this month". I suppose that if I make judicious use of various devices this number can be multiplied. It's not particularly an issue for me, but I was wondering if paywalls, also used by the likes of The Times, actually work. Do they gain more in subscribers than they lose in casual internet surfers not seeing the adverts on their sites?
One of the two local newspapers in Valencia, Levante EMV, not so long ago introduced a partial paywall for its website, which struck me as absolutely insane given that practically every bar or café here carries a free copy of this or its right-wing rival, Las Provincias. I'm really none too sure how many out-of-town subscibers they hope to attract to the site but I can't imagine it would be many.
Do you pay for online access for any newspapers or do you tend to play the system, get your X number of free articles a month, and rely on the many other news outlets for your info? And do paywalls really work? What's the business verdict?
One of the two local newspapers in Valencia, Levante EMV, not so long ago introduced a partial paywall for its website, which struck me as absolutely insane given that practically every bar or café here carries a free copy of this or its right-wing rival, Las Provincias. I'm really none too sure how many out-of-town subscibers they hope to attract to the site but I can't imagine it would be many.
Do you pay for online access for any newspapers or do you tend to play the system, get your X number of free articles a month, and rely on the many other news outlets for your info? And do paywalls really work? What's the business verdict?
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