The mood has changed. Across the Atlantic, many publishers have adopted a new stance
Press+, a company that has helped 400 American publishers to set up metered paywalls, reports that its clients are growing increasingly confident about the willingness of consumers to pay for online news. Paywalls are kicking in sooner – the average is after just 10 articles per month – and subscription rates are being increased (from an average of $6.85 a month in January 2012 to $9.26 in January 2013).
This is why Warren Buffett, who is never less than careful with his cash, invested $344m (£226.6m) in American newspapers last year and why he recently criticised the Pied Pipers of "free" for marching towards "the steps of the bankruptcy court". Buffett singled out for praise the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, which introduced a partial paywall as early as 2002, and has seen print circulation stand up well.
