That's the question media machers are fixated on these days: Will folks be willing to fork over actual money for access to information or entertainment content on the Web? At first, the prevailing view was no - and yet more and more outlets are preparing some sort of pay model. The surveys are all over the map on whether it makes sense.

--Nearly 50 percent of Web users are willing to pay for online news, according to the Boston Consulting Group.

--Forrester says it's more like 20 percent.

Here's Peter Kafka's take at MediaMemo:

For what it's worth, my money's on the Forrester number, or one that's even lower. My gut says that people love consuming news, but only in the broadest sense-Obama doesn't really Twitter! What was Belichick thinking?-and that sort of stuff, which appeals to a very large audience, will always be free, and you'll get it from Google (GOOG) or something like Yahoo (YHOO). Which leaves you with a small audience willing to pay for everything else.

The other alternative - perhaps the most interesting one - is to somehow link a pay plan to a service that we're currently paying for. For instance, phone service or cable TV. As a singular add-on, Internet payments might be a tough sell, but bundled with something else it becomes an invisible expense. Maybe it could work. Maybe.