Newsday website to begin charging for content

Newsday, purchased from Tribune Co. last year by Cablevision for $650 million, may soon become one of the few national news organizations to charge for its content online, according to Editor & Publisher.

Cablevision COO Tom Rutledge said on the call, “When we purchased Newsday, we were aware of the long-term issues facing the traditional newspaper industry. We plan to end the distribution of the free Web content and make our news gathering capabilities a service to our customers.”
…Publisher Timothy Knight said, “We are in the process of transforming Newsday’s Web site into an enhanced, locally focused cable service that we believe will become an important benefit for Newsday and Cablevision customers. More particulars will be forthcoming over the next few months.”

According to the article, the website has experienced year-over-year declines in unique visitors over the past three months, falling 60% year-over-year for the month of December.
Details of the new model were not revealed.

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