New York Times is allegedly gearing up to begin charging online readers soon. What’s more, the change should coincide with a supposed January 27 launch of a rumored Apple tablet.

New York Times chairman Arthur Sulzberger Jr. could soon announce paid access to the newspaper’s website that draws 20 million unique online readers. The news came via a Sunday story ran in New York Magazine that quoted “people familiar with internal deliberations.” The Times is apparently considering adopting a metered system heralded by the Financial Times which gives readers a few free articles before requiring them to pay.

Sources speculated to New York Magazine that a digital New York Times edition could coincide with Apple’s rumored tablet believed to be up for an announcement January 27. The Times’ executive editor Bill Keller declined to comment and the paper’s spokesperson Diane McNulty had this to say:

We’ll announce a decision when we believe that we have crafted the best possible business approach. No details till then.

Read more at New York Magazine

Christian’s Opinion

Well, what to say… Just like everyone else on the web, I too don’t like this paid content thing that News Corp’s Rupert Murdoch is pushing with the Wall Street Journal and other publications. Regardless of what you and I think of it, the publishing industry is seeking a much-needed remedy to the declining ad revenues and decreasing circulation of print products. It is now evident that online ads can’t offset a huge drop in print advertising.

That said, I have no doubt in my mind that we’ll be soon expected to make micropayments in exchange for access to high-profile online publications. On the other hand, I never thought in my wildest dreams five years ago that I’d be purchasing my music online, buying mobile apps, and renting streaming movies and TV shows.

I sure am not going to pay for web editions of the New York Times or the Wall Street Journal unless they tempt me with a low enough fee – say, a cent or two per article or up to 99 cents for access to the whole edition. But if publishers repackage printed magazines and newspapers for tablet reading and enhance this experience with multimedia, I’m willing to be charged for such content. Think digital concepts like Time, Inc.’s Sports Illustrated concept, Wired’s digital edition mock-up, Bonnier’s Mag+ prototype, or even a fan-made mockup. Unless they give me those kinds of digital print experiences on an Apple tablet, via iTunes, I won’t be sold on paying for news on the web.