I cannot lie – I have been waiting for this day for awhile. As certain as death and taxes, I knew that my (free) love affair with the New York Times online couldn’t last. And now the news is certain, starting January 2011, I will have to pay for my love of the eloquently written word.
The New York Times is not the first newspaper to charge for online access to read their articles. Heck, the first company that I work for was one of the pioneers of this trend – much to my chagrin when I’ve tried to get some of my old articles from their online archives. In that case, I am still good friends with the editor and weaseled a free log-in out of him. Will I be able to do the same for the New York Times? That’s pretty doubtful.
I’m still researching the details of this “new deal” for NY Times readers like myself … supposedly, I can read a handful of articles before I have to pay a flat fee for the rest of the month’s access to my beloved Bitten by Mark Bittman. But what’s next – Facebook? Twitter? I am an online junkie, but I think I could overcome all of my love of social media if it started to hit my pocketbook.
But you, New York Times? I’m not sure that this love affair will end. Which is probably better for my brain than another game of Farmville on Facebook.
I understand why news sites are charging now, but I still don’t like it.