Comments

1
Like I said, make it one-tenth the cost of the physical paper, and you might succeed.
2
I suspected this was coming when the middle of the month passed with no paywall. Not enough digital subscriber bites, eh? Shocking.
3
As though any sack of shit at the Stranger could even come close to calling themselves a "journalist".
4
Do it! Tighten that noose, ST!
5
@3 Ouch, someone at the Times has their panties in a twist!

I wonder how seriously traffic has declined on the Times website since the change was announced? I was a daily reader and have only clicked through to one or two articles since the paywall was announced.

The fundamental problem with the Times is that their customers are actually the advertisers. They sell access to the readers and they attract readers by publishing the news. The customers are no longer buying the product. Trying to get the readers to pay is not the solution.

In contrast, the Stranger may still have a good customer base since there are plenty of entertainment venues which still want to reach college students and hipsters.
6
Re: One great reason, I suppose they get some applause for transparency. If they hadn't pointed that out, you surely would have delighted more in pointing out their nefarious hidden agenda.
7
Why would anyone pay more for the online version than print? What's better about it? Makes zero sense to me.
8
I delivered The Seattle Times as a kid and have liked the paper in the past. However, the continued lack of intelligent editorials (it's fine if we disagree: just make what you voice of your opinions at least loosely self-consistent) plus this latest step encourage me to delete all links to their site. I wish them luck rediscovering themselves before it's too late. I'll cheerily pay for good content once they stop writing editorials while drunk.
9
http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/arch…

"And local reporters don't "just" contribute by getting citizens civically useful information. A boring newspaper story about financial improprieties at the water district that almost no one reads or cares about can still have a huge impact so long as one of the few readers works in the county prosecutor's office. Local newspapers bankrolled and bundled a lot of civically important work that few people wanted to read with the sports page, the crossword puzzle, the comics, and the Sunday coupons. If you measure the quality of the news media by focusing on consumer utility, as Yglesias does, the civic value of publishing that material is totally missed. So is the value of having local-government officials who engage in less graft precisely because they know that a sophisticated observer is constantly watching them, ready to expose them if they break the law.

It would be nice to think that citizen journalists could simply step into the breach, empowered by the tools the web provides. Perhaps that will occur in future years more than is now the case. But show me a local newspaper that has laid off a significant number of editors and beat reporters, and I'll show you a city where a lot of institutional knowledge, built at great cost over many years, was suddenly, perhaps irrevocably lost; where even skilled citizen journalists have a hard time filling the breach, because unlike local newspapers they aren't backed by an lawyer on retainer to sue when the city attorney won't fill the public records request, and they lack institutional heft to secure access to officials who can ignore Jane Blogger a lot more easily than a broadsheet that prints daily editorials, endorses candidates, and has institutional authority."
10
Facebook is making paywalls obsolete besides decimating article-oriented journalism.
11
"Quality journalism" hahaha
12
@9: I'm all for responsible investigative journalism and mourn its loss. The Seattle Times, while it employs many talented reporters who follow ethical practices, has a few misguided editors and staff who have abandoned core guidelines to chase self-promotion and awards at the expense of the truth. They have recklessly ruined lives in this pursuit and duped the public they are supposed to serve.

Since January, they have advertised for a new Investigative and now a Business "take no prisoners" reporter in spite of their apparent financial woes. Go after the "bad guys", please, but do so honestly and with a balanced pen. Once those lies are published, they are nearly impossible to beat back to uncover the truth.

This newspaper is disgusting and dishonest and out of touch with the heartbeat of the community it is supposed to serve.

I am one person who will celebrate its demise.

Please wait...

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