The New York Times > Business > Media & Advertising > Can Papers End the Free Ride Online?

What is the deal with Kit Seelye and media news? She's awful. What about asking a question to a reader or someone not involved deeply in publishing. Even if she asked her neighbor what they thought, it might add some real insight.

Even the Times cannot charge. Who cares about news that they can't get on Yahoo (someone else you might have wanted to interview)? Isn't this the same thing Hollywood said about TV? What about CNN or BBC's Web sites? (maybe another person people might want to hear about). It'll just push people away from the paper. I was also wondering about any numbers about Web ads? Other than fastest grossing and 2-3 percent, what about real $$$s? Is that 2 percent of $1 or $1 Billion? How fast is it growing? Isn't everything else shrinking (readership, ad pages, etc.)?

Change is the only certainty in anything. Embrace it and make it worth while. Look at the Post. They have started a ton of blogs and online content. They are obviously aiming toward the future and driving up readership by enriching content. This gives them the option of charging later for that stuff and at the very least charging more for Web site advertisers.