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New Yorker Stories to Read Before the Paywall Goes Up

slate.com

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Re: New Yorker Stories to Read Before the Paywall Goes Up

#11

Post by jonathansizz »

I think it's pretty sad that so many people balk at paying very modest amounts of money for high-quality material. It's as though everything that's available on the web should be free, just because it's on the web.

It's the same with people moaning about paying a couple of dollars for an app or even installing pirated versions rather than paying. There's something seriously wrong here.

The New Yorker costs $50/year - about the same as a single evening in a bar with a friend. Or a dozen coffees.

Re: New Yorker Stories to Read Before the Paywall Goes Up

#13

Post by adrusi »

dublinben wrote: post #5
thathonkey wrote: post #2

New Yorker and NYT are two of the only old school media companies whose content I would still pay for. They have some of the best journalism around (NYT for straight news, New Yorker for editorial, long-form, & culture pieces). I think New Yorker's pay wall will probably be a success. I was already prepared to pay for a subscription when the time came.

On the other side, I rarely read the New Yorker. I enjoy the occasional article that pops up here, but I wouldn't pay to read any of them. They'll lose me as a reader by going behind a paywall.

The slate article calls it a "metered paywall" which means that unsubscribed users will be able to read a limited number or articles per week. You'll probably be below your limit every time "the occaisional article" pops up.

Re: New Yorker Stories to Read Before the Paywall Goes Up

#14

Post by cshenoy »

dublinben wrote: post #10
thathonkey wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The pay wall isn't meant to attract people who "rarely read" the New Yorker. Those are the consumers they are OK with losing because they didn't make up an appreciable demographic for their business model anyway.

Readers are readers. They now have zero chance of converting me into a paying subscriber, since I can't read their articles. With a more flexible paywall, I can be encouraged to subscribe every time I'm linked to an article.

It's a metered paywall [1]. You'll still be able to read a few articles a month. IMHO, that's fairly flexible.

[1]: http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/07/28/note-readers

Re: New Yorker Stories to Read Before the Paywall Goes Up

#15

Post by digitalsushi »

jonathansizz wrote: post #11

I think it's pretty sad that so many people balk at paying very modest amounts of money for high-quality material. It's as though everything that's available on the web should be free, just because it's on the web. It's the same with people moaning about paying a couple of dollars for an app or even installing pirated versions rather than paying. There's something seriously wrong here. The New Yorker costs $50/year -…

We've had this thing to deliver content for 20 years (the web) but in the same 20 years no one has invented a simple way to pay for the content.

I'll balk at 50 dollars a year the same way I'll balk at 3500 dollars worth of gourmet coffees paid on January 1st. Just let me spend small amounts so I don't become aware of my own habits.

Re: New Yorker Stories to Read Before the Paywall Goes Up

#16

Post by jonathansizz »

digitalsushi wrote: post #15
jonathansizz wrote: post #11

I think it's pretty sad that so many people balk at paying very modest amounts of money for high-quality material. It's as though everything that's available on the web should be free, just because it's on the web. It's the same with people moaning about paying a couple of dollars for an app or even installing pirated versions rather than paying. There's something seriously wrong here. The New Yorker costs $50/year -…

We've had this thing to deliver content for 20 years (the web) but in the same 20 years no one has invented a simple way to pay for the content. I'll balk at 50 dollars a year the same way I'll balk at 3500 dollars worth of gourmet coffees paid on January 1st. Just let me spend small amounts so I don't become aware of my own habits.

The subscribe section gives you 12 weeks for $12.

Re: New Yorker Stories to Read Before the Paywall Goes Up

#17

Post by Ricapar »

digitalsushi wrote: post #15
jonathansizz wrote: post #11

I think it's pretty sad that so many people balk at paying very modest amounts of money for high-quality material. It's as though everything that's available on the web should be free, just because it's on the web. It's the same with people moaning about paying a couple of dollars for an app or even installing pirated versions rather than paying. There's something seriously wrong here. The New Yorker costs $50/year -…

We've had this thing to deliver content for 20 years (the web) but in the same 20 years no one has invented a simple way to pay for the content. I'll balk at 50 dollars a year the same way I'll balk at 3500 dollars worth of gourmet coffees paid on January 1st. Just let me spend small amounts so I don't become aware of my own habits.

> Just let me spend small amounts so I don't become aware of my own habits.

ding ding ding

Amazon's mobile app does this excellently with the One-Click purchase.

And don't even get me started on Steam sales.

I dare not look at my spending history on either of those two.

Re: New Yorker Stories to Read Before the Paywall Goes Up

#18

Post by tomjen3 »

jonathansizz wrote: post #11

I think it's pretty sad that so many people balk at paying very modest amounts of money for high-quality material. It's as though everything that's available on the web should be free, just because it's on the web. It's the same with people moaning about paying a couple of dollars for an app or even installing pirated versions rather than paying. There's something seriously wrong here. The New Yorker costs $50/year -…

I might not object to paying 50 bucks a year, but I read articles shared by dozens of people on different websites so it would be more like ten times that, to different publications.

I very rarely actually go to any one publications website.

Re: New Yorker Stories to Read Before the Paywall Goes Up

#19

Post by tzs »

bjlorenzen wrote: post #12

I disagree with the very premise; why go out of your way to encourage bad behaviour? I stand for freedom of information and will avoid New Yorker from this point forward.

How would you suggest the New Yorker obtain money to finance the creation of new high quality content?

Re: New Yorker Stories to Read Before the Paywall Goes Up

#20

Post by spenuke »

This is good news for those who appreciate the New Yorker.

Not everyone thinks that a world full of advertising and clickbait "information" is a desirable thing. Think of The Atlantic -- at one time, it was on par with The New Yorker for quality content. Now, it contains one rare pearl of compelling and thought-provoking writing (e.g., Ta Nahesi Coates's "A Case For Reparations") for every thousand transitory blips clamoring to acquire page-views.

There is such a thing as information which cannot easily be supported by the info-economy of frictionless social media sharing. I find it disheartening that this is an unobvious idea to some who preach freedom of information.

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