Center for Sustainable Journalism

The Intelligencer Journal-Lancaster New Era in Lancaster, Pa., is one of the first handful of news outlets planning to use a software system developed by Steven Brill, L. Gordon Crovitz and their partners, called Press+. Others include The Fayetteville Observer in North Carolina and Global Post.  As the NY Times reports, a move to charge for content means not a single decision, but dozens. With Press+, sites can let nonpaying readers see the top of an article, while only paying readers see the whole thing.   Sites can allow unlimited reading of certain articles, while charging for others or charge by the month or by the click.  They can also limit free reading to a certain number of articles a month, treat readers differently depending on their location, charge a single price or have a tiered system, give print subscribers free access or charge them, too.  Let the experimentation begin!  –Harold Lewis