USA Today plans digital edition

USA Today is planning to produce an electronic copy of the printed newspaper and charge readers to subscribe, publisher David Hunke announced today.
The electronic version will be available to subscribers via e-mail beginning Aug. 3 and cost less than printed editions of the newspaper.

Hunke also said that USA Today will be looking for more ways to charge for content, but that access to usatoday.com will remain free at this time.

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ESPN mag Web site to merge with Insider content

Come August, ESPN The Magazine's website will start charging for its content, the company announced this week.

The publication's content, which consists of a video series an ongoing web articles, will become part of ESPN's Insider content, which costs$6.95 a month, or $39.95 a year.

The Insider, which has about 350,000 paying subscribers, will still be available gratis to ESPN Magazine subscribers for one year.

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Top newspaper execs meet to discuss charging for online content

According to The Atlantic, the nation's top newspaper executives will be coming together to discuss charging for online content at a hotel near Chicago today.
The Models to Monetize Content meeting, said to be organized by Newspaper Association of America and led by Barbara Cohen, will reportedly include executives from Advance Publications, The Associated Press, E.W. Scripps, Freedom Communications Inc., Gannett, Hearst Newspapers, Lee Enterprises, McClatchy, MediaNews Group,The New York Times Co. and Philadelphia Media Holdings.

The decisions made at this meeting could indelibly change the face of the media landscape to come. While some journalists are cheering the prospect of being paid for online content, many readers are still uncertain of online content's value and the ability of newspapers to offer more worth beyond their print editions.
James Warren's perspective on the meeting and the industry as a whole is similar to that of many journalists' today-simultaneously cynical and optimistic. From the story:

Now, more than ever, is a time for creativity and nerve, not just hunkering down and crossing fingers that safe harbor will appear on the horizon. It's a wonderful and important product, vital to American communities. Unlike a lot of jobs, you can look yourself in the mirror and know you're doing some good. Many newsrooms remain filled with a sense of mission even amid the looming dread.

View the story here.

How do you feel about the meeting and charging for online content? Comment and let us know.