Effective Wed., Dec. 19, the Charlotte Observer will join about 300 newspapers nationwide, including The New York Times, in limiting access to online content.
President and Publisher Ann Caulkins wrote:
People who don’t have digital subscriptions will be limited in what they can get from us on our website or smartphone apps. For example, in a 30-day period, people without a subscription can read only 15 stories from their personal computer.
Print subscribers will see a small increase in their monthly dues but will have unlimited access to the website. For readers who just want an online subscription, the Observer Plus plan will cost .99 cents the first month and $9.95 per month after that.
The times, they are a-changin’.
Read Caulkins’ letter here.
This blog has been updated with pricing information.
This article appears in Nov 14-20, 2012.
As an editor, I would hope you would check your work. The pricing is $9.95/month or $99.95 a year found here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2012/11/17/3672923/observer-plus-qa.html
That link is found at the bottom of the article at “(See “ Observer Plus Q&A” for more information.)”
I predict that the move will hasten the fall of the Observer. There are too many other sources of free online news.
James, thanks for pointing that out.