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WSJ Plans Micro-Payments for Web Access

News Corp. paper will charge for individual articles

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(Newser) – The Wall Street Journal will introduce a system of micro-payments for access to articles on its website, becoming the first newspaper to charge readers for individual stories. The service will target casual users unlikely to pay more than $100 for an annual online subscription, editor-in-chief Robert Thomson told the Financial Times. The price of an article hasn't yet been set, but Thomson said it would be "rightfully high."

Thomson's announcement of a micro-payments system follows earlier statements by owner Rupert Murdoch that his papers would begin charging for online access. Since his acquisition of the Journal the price of the print edition has increased 21%, while advertising has fallen by a third in the first quarter of 2009 alone.

'Wall Street Journal' editor-in-chief Robert Thomson.
'Wall Street Journal' editor-in-chief Robert Thomson.   (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)
Rupert Murdoch speaks at a news conference.
Rupert Murdoch speaks at a news conference.   (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, FILE)
A printer poses for photographs with a copy of the Wall Street Journal at a printing press in London.
A printer poses for photographs with a copy of the Wall Street Journal at a printing press in London.   (AP Photo/Matt Dunham, file)
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TerrifiedCitizen
May 11, 09 8:52 AM CDT
I would welcome feedback on this issue of making special accommodation to news organizations from Newser itself... Being a Newser reader, I feel you could better crystallize this issue and help us to understand the critical factors at play. Reply
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Robert_Dada
May 11, 09 5:11 PM CDT
As long as there are other sources for the same or similar information, this model will not prevail. And if there are no current sources, one will emerge with a business model that won't require payment for access. Reply
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