The New York Times announced Wednesday that it intended to charge frequent readers for access to its website, a step being debated across the industry that nearly every major newspaper has so far feared to take.
Starting in early 2011, visitors to NYTimes.com will get a certain number of articles free every month before being asked to pay a standard and fixed fee for unlimited access. Subscribers to the newspaper’s print edition will receive full access to the site.
But executives of The New York Times Company said they could not yet answer fundamental questions about the plan, like how much it would cost or what the limit would be on free reading. They stressed that the amount of free access could change with time, in response to economic conditions and reader demand. Still, publishers fear that money from digital subscriptions would not make up for the resulting loss of audience and advertising income.
NYTimes.com is by far the most popular newspaper site in the country, with more than 17 million readers a month in the United States, according to Nielsen Online, and ysts say it is the leader in advertising income, as well. That may make it better positioned than other general-interest papers to charge—and also gives The Times more to lose if the move produces an opposed result.
The Times Company has been studying the matter for almost a year, searching for common ground between pro-and-anti pay campaigns—a debate mirrored in dozens of media-watching blogs-- and the system will not go into effect until January 2011. Executives said they were not bothered by the possibility of absorbing barbs(挖苦) for moving cautiously.
“There’s no prize for getting it quick,” said Janet L. Robinson, the company’s president and chief executive. “There’s more of a prize for getting it right.”
小题1: What’s the function of the first paragraph?A．It servers as a comment.B．It serves as a backgroundC．It serves as a lead-inD．It serves as a conclusion.小题2:Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?A．Non-paying subscribers will get no access to NYTimes.com.B．Readers will be charged more to read articles on NYTimes.com.C．Readers will get more free online articles to log on NYTimes. com more often.D．Subscribers to the paper’s print edition will also enjoy full access to the site.小题3:Which of the words can best describe The Time Company’s attitude towards its announcement?A．Unwilling.B．Serious.C．HastyD．Doubtful小题4: What is the main idea about the passage?A．The Times to offer free access to its web site.B．The Times to increase audience to its web site.C．The Times to attract advertisement to its web siteD．The Times to charge for frequent access to its web site.