More newspaper paywalls going up

Still a ways off before the industry reaches any kind of critical mass, but the success of the NYT's paid plan is clearly motivating other papers to make the move. Starting tomorrow, the Boston Globe moves from the ad-sponsored boston.com site and will be available by subscription only (boston.com has relaunched as a free, local news site, with stories from various sources, including some from The Boston Globe). Also putting up a wall are the Baltimore Sun, the Commercial Appeal in Memphis, the Dallas Morning News, and a bunch of others. And what about the LAT? Our friend Ed Padgett posted last week that a paywall will soon go up at the paper. Even the tight-lipped Times is acknowledging as much - a spokeswoman told News & Tech that the paper, along with all the Tribune properties, are examining a variety of ways to "capitalize" on its content. There are all kinds of models being tested, though among the more popular is giving current subscribers free access to all online content, offering a digital-only subscription, and an a la carte system where users are charged by the article or the day or the week. I'd imagine that the next six to 12 months should be telling.