When the Ink Runs Dry

The New York Times now has more daily visitors to its Web site www.nytimes.com than it does daily print subscribers. In the March 14 article “Can Papers End the Free Ride Online?” the newspaper reported that in January its Web site had 1.4 million unique daily visitors, while its daily print circulation averaged over 1.1 million. The newspaper offers free access to its online content, but like many other large daily newspapers is considering charging for its Web-based content. According to the article, of the nation's 1,456 daily newspapers, only one national newspaper, The Wall Street Journal, and approximately 40 small dailies charge for online content.