Information wants to be free, reporters want to be paid, Part 14

The gray lady weighs in today with a 1,300-word tome on a topic familiar to readers of this blog.

Under the headline "They Pay for Cable, Music and Extra Bags. How About News?" New York Times writers Richard Perez-Pena and Tim Arango explore the question of whether, after all these years of giving away news, the news media can charge online readers for at least some of their content.

They quote Rupert Murdoch, who when he purchased The Wall Street Journal hinted he would make its online site free but has since become an advocate of the paid model, and their own editor Bill Keller, who has also hinted at a change in direction. Both have been quoted here saying as much.

The article pulls together many to the pros and cons addressed in many locales and publications over the past few months for a sort of one-stop shopping on this important topic. It's worth a scan.