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A number of UK news web sites are reportedly about to start charging web site visitors to access their content.
The BBC said today that the Johnston Press will ask users to pay £5 for three months access to a number of its web sites, including the Worksop Guardian, the Ripley & Heanor News and the Whitby Gazette.
The new system will be done as a test, according to the report, to see the impact of charging for content on readership numbers.
Increasing numbers of publishers are now looking for ways to monetise content since print advertising revenue began to decrease.
Recent reports said that News Corp had approached Microsoft in order to have its web sites' content ranked exclusively with Bing in exchange for payment.
Successful models where news sites charge for content include the Financial Times and the Wall Street Journal, but both publications are renowned for their world class quality of journalists, which is why people are so willing to pay up.
It is unsure whether readers of the Whitby Gazette will feel the same.
30 Nov 2009
