My Worries About the New York Times Possible Paywall

Mashable reports that the New York Times might start charging for their web content.  I’m skeptical this model will actually work, since there are so many other options for news.  However, I also wonder what the impact of big news sources like the New York Times closing off their service will be for quality discussion online.

Let’s say all major newspapers and other news outlets create a pay wall.  If there isn’t a way for me to pay one price to access all of these sites, it will be hard for me to really look at links and citations that commentary blogs (like my favorite website Slate.com) use to make their arguments.  Without access to sources, it will make it harder to provide quality opinion pieces and have useful discussion.

So while it might (and I say might, because I’m not sure it will) be good for the news sources bottom line, I worry that pay walls will be a disservice to society as a whole.

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