I get over 3 months of my local paper for $15, so that does seem like a lot.
Willow: Something evil-crashed to earth in this. Then it broke out and slithered away to do badness.
Giles: Well, in all fairness, we don't really know about the "slithered" part. Anya: No, no, I'm sure it frisked about like a fluffy lamb.
'Never Leave Me'
Natter 67: Overriding Vetoes
Off-topic discussion. Wanna talk about corsets, nail polish, duct tape, or physics? This is the place. Detailed discussion of any current-season TV must be whitefonted.
-t - Mar 17, 2011 8:11:50 am PDT #28828 of 30001
I am a woman of various inclinations and only some of the time are they to burn everything down in frustration
DavidS - Mar 17, 2011 8:13:23 am PDT #28829 of 30001
"Look, son, if it's good enough for Shirley Bassey, it's good enough for you."
Can we buy one subscription as Buffistas and everybody logs in? Probably not, huh?
flea - Mar 17, 2011 8:13:59 am PDT #28830 of 30001
information libertarian
For me at this point, a print newspaper is useless. I have no time at home to read it, it's too big and the cats sit on it if I read it on the floor, and I've read the Times online for so long I am deeply disconcerted by the arrangement of the print. (My mother is visiting and is buying the Times daily and it's so weird.)
But I'm cheap. I don't spend $5 on coffee a day - I maybe buy a coffee out once a month. I bring my lunch. I pay $30 a month for the cheapest TV service I could get, and would pay nothing if there were over-the-air reception of PBS in my town. I'm actually thinking of cancelling TV, but it would be a big fight with my kids. Well, and my husband, probably.
-t - Mar 17, 2011 8:19:45 am PDT #28831 of 30001
I am a woman of various inclinations and only some of the time are they to burn everything down in frustration
Admittedly, I have never been one for reading the newspaper. I get the Sunday paper delivered now so I can skim through it, maybe, but mostly so I have something to wrap worm food in, and to use as kindling.
hippocampus - Mar 17, 2011 8:23:37 am PDT #28832 of 30001
not your mom's socks.
Jessica has a point - that the writers' effort is what we're subscribing to. This is a conversation that carries well beyond newspapers.
I rail at advertisements in products I pay for though. That's one thing that really peeved me about cable, which was originally something you paid for in order to get ad-free television. Until it wasn't.
I don't want ads in my books. I hate being trapped with them at the start of movies. I wish them nowhere near my apps (eyah, good luck).
If we're paying for the articles, in this model, we're also paying for a lot of advertisements, and we are getting those in spades (aggressive ones, too).
Jessica - Mar 17, 2011 8:24:09 am PDT #28833 of 30001
And then Ortus came and said "It's Ortin' time" and they all Orted off into the sunset
Local delivery of the NYT costs $5.85/week, or about $25/month. Outside of the NYC metro area, the print edition is $7.40/week or about $35/month. So $15/month for the same content anywhere in the country (more content, really, since the online version is updated throughout the day and includes video & interactive features) seems like a pretty good deal to me. DH is pretty addicted to the dead tree edition or I'd switch today.
flea - Mar 17, 2011 8:27:47 am PDT #28834 of 30001
information libertarian
$15 a month is a good deal compared to $35 a month, but a bad deal compared to $0 a month. It's all relative.
Jessica - Mar 17, 2011 8:28:09 am PDT #28835 of 30001
And then Ortus came and said "It's Ortin' time" and they all Orted off into the sunset
If we're paying for the articles, in this model, we're also paying for a lot of advertisements, and we are getting those in spades (aggressive ones, too).
The ads are the only thing that makes it possible for a newspaper to offer a reasonable subscription price in any format. Take out the ads and the subscription price just about triples.
quester - Mar 17, 2011 8:32:42 am PDT #28836 of 30001
Danger is my middle name, only I spell it R. u. t. h. - Tina Belcher.
I've been paying $12 a year for the crosswords in the NYT, but it also lets me read the online edition. I wonder if that will change.
flea - Mar 17, 2011 8:32:52 am PDT #28837 of 30001
information libertarian
One of the comments on the Times article notes that the commenter lives in India and $15 is about his daily salary, yet he reads the Times regularly online. They don't have differential pricing for the third world, which is interesting. I am sure they have their own numbers on where clicks are coming from, and have considered the issue; it would be fascinating to get some insight into the decision-making process.