This is big news for the old “paid content” model. As this AP story points out, with the WSJ.com going free, that leaves Consumer Reports as the biggest circulation paid site in the world.
“Other media outlets also tried to charge fees for access to their Web sites in the early years of the Internet, but most abandoned the strategy, particularly after online advertising spending began to grow.”
The challenge for Consumer Reports is that it doesn’t take paid advertising so it will be more difficult for them to take away the access fee. I support their need for the fee because of their objectivity, but I do find it odd that although I’m a subscriber to the old fashioned hard copy magazine, I can’t get access to the website.
It won’t be long now, though, ’til web access fees for traditional media are a thing of the past.