Would you pay for online content?

Surfing the web for free may be a thing of the past, one of these days. At least two new websites--Journalism Online and ViewPass--are busy building their products to end this free-for-all. It will cost money to view these sites. A number of news organizations, including MediaNews Group, are thinking about adding charges, too.

Business Week reports that newspaper publishers are at the forefront of current discussions given the floundering state of industry. Is this a way to make money and regenerate a dying industry? Is this a way to attract new readers? Only if there is no other way to get the information, don't you think?

Business Week reports that IAC CEO Barry Diller, said at a conference in May: "People will pay for content. They always have," he said. "I absolutely believe the Internet is passing from its free phase into a paid system."

This may be a pie-in-the-sky idea. Just how do you take something that's been free and turn it into something that costs money? For every site that charges, we're sure new free sites would emerge. You may remember that the Wall Street Journal once was a subscription-only news site. Now, some of it still is, but the fact that most of the site has become free says a lot. And there are so many free sites around that can just pick up the restricted article, it almost makes no sense for the newspaper to try to get a few bucks out of a story.

For more on charging for the Internet:
- check out this Business Week article

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