The New York Times Will Charge for Web Access

The New York Times recently announced this week that it will charge readers for access to its Web site. This announcement caused a great deal of reaction among frequenters of the site, as well as media analysts. Don't worry yourself too much yet though, this limited free access won't begin until January 2011.

The NY Times put together a Q & A article which answers many people's questions and general concerns about what is to come and details about this major change. See some of the highlights below or click here for the complete article.

Q: Will access to NYTimes.com be free for subscribers to the print newspaper?
A: Yes. Even people who subscribe only to the Sunday paper will have free, unlimited use of the Web site.

Q: How much will be charged?
A: That has not been decided.

Q. How much will I be able to read without paying?

A: A reader will be able to see a certain number of articles in a month before hitting a so-called pay wall. That number has not yet been determined. Any reader will have unlimited access to the NYTimes.com home page. You will still be able to read individual articles through search sites like Google, Yahoo and Bing without charge. After that first article, though, clicking on subsequent ones will count toward your monthly limit. After reaching the limit, you will still be able to get to Times articles through the search engine, but you will not be able to click to a second article on the Web site without paying.

Q: If I agree to pay for content, will I be charged individually for each article I read, or will there be a flat rate to read as much as I want?

A: A flat rate for full access to the site.

I personally go on the NY Times site daily, so I'll probably be considering paying the fee to go on the site next year. But who knows what might happen by that time. What are your opinions about there being a fee to access NYTimes.com?