paidContent - Pittsburgh Daily To Try 'Members Only' News Site
This story was written by David Kaplan.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette is dipping its toe in the paid-content waters with a new subscription site dubbed PG+. The site, to be announced Tuesday, will feature original content, though it will be produced by the same columnists and reporters that put out the paper’s print and online editions. PG+ will also blend in social networking, live chats, videos and a more blog-like approach to daily news. For the annual subscription price of $36, or $3.99 for a month, the paper is also promising deals on entertainment like concerts and other events and shopping.
At a time when more are seriously the considering building up their pay walls, this is a pretty light step. Next to the price for home delivery of the paper for a year ($160), $36 doesn’t seem like a lot. But with the main site already offering much of the city’s daily coverage for free, it may prove too high to attract users. And if readers do flock to the adjunct site, that $36 fee will likely have to rise much higher to enable the new site to be self-sustaining. Release
By David Kaplan