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There is an interesting experiment about to begin in Schenectady, New York. The Schenectady Daily Gazette isn’t free anymore. According to Editor & Publisher:

Beginning Aug. 3, The Daily Gazette of Schenectady, N.Y. will revert its Web site to a paid-only format … After the changeover, subscribers will receive unlimited content from the Gazette’s Web site, including access to the newspaper’s e-edition. Non-subscribers will be able to access some content, including blogs, TV schedules, photo galleries, and breaking news. They will not, however, be able to read the full text of the paper’s local stories, reviews, obituaries and columns or post comments on stories. “

And, this directly from the Daily Gazette’s editor.

Well, here we go. Could this be the first of many attempts on the part of newspapers to put the horses back in the barn and charge for online content? It’s always been bizarre to me that consumers of news indignantly demand that their content be made free online. Who writes this stuff? How does the hosting get paid for? The content management system? The research needed to complete an article?

The fact is, news costs money. I love citizen journalism, blogging, micro-blogging, and every other content distribution tool available online. But, good, quality journalism costs money – it does not and cannot simply create itself. Good, talented, experienced people must be compensated for it. It’s better for society and democracy if journalism is supported by citizens, and not advertisers. Fewer conflicts of interest and less temptation to skew the news.

I’m excited to see what happens in Schenectady – my hope is that this is a huge success.