The New York Times, the paragon of paywalled newspaper sites, removed the paywall around its coverage of the Boston bombings yesterday. Which leads to the question, should all major news be free?
When big events happen – be they tragic like yesterday's events in Boston or of national significance – should news coverage be made freely available to everyone regardless of if you're digital subscriber or if you've maxed out the number of 'free' articles?
The New York Times took down the paywall around its Boston-related coverage until 12:01am (US EST) Tuesday. The reaction on Twitter was mixed, with some people praising the publication while others saw it as a ploy to increase web traffic.
The New York Times vice president corporate communications Eileen Murphy told AdNews: “When we turn off the pay meter, we generally do it for public service reasons. For instance, during our coverage of Hurricane Sandy last year and again yesterday after the Boston bombings.”
In Australia, News Limited has had a paywall around The Australian's website since 2011 and is set to do the same around other metro dailies such as The Daily Telegraph soon.
Would it do the same thing as The New York Times, a News Limited spokesperson told AdNews: “Of course it's something we would consider”.
Fairfax is due to roll-out its metred model, based after The New York Times archetype, later this year. A Fairfax spokesperson said: "We'd consider removing the paymeter for a big story where our websites would play a critical role in disseminating information and when many of our readers are affected."
What do you think? Should paywalls be removed around news coverage of big events? Let us know in the comments below.
Sign up to the AdNews newsletter, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for breaking stories and campaigns throughout the day.
Have something to say? Send us your comments using the form below or contact the writer at wenleima@yaffa.com.au
Have something to say on this? Share your views in the comments section below. Or if you have a news story or tip-off, drop us a line at adnews@yaffa.com.au
Sign up to the AdNews newsletter, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for breaking stories and campaigns throughout the day.