Reuters to start charging for website

Reuters plans to begin charging for its website, reports Alexandra Bruell of The Wall Street Journal.

Bruell reports, “The global news organization will start charging readers who come directly to its news site and apps. The subscription, which will cost $1 a week, will be launched this month in Canada and roll out in the U.S. and parts of Europe in the coming weeks and months.

“In charging readers, Reuters is following a path that many other publishers are pursuing as ad-supported business models come under strain. On Tuesday, CNN said it was starting to ask users to pay a monthly fee of $3.99 for unlimited access to CNN.com, a so-called subscription paywall that would kick in after they have read a certain number of free articles.

“Technology outlet the Verge is considering a paid subscription as well, according to a person familiar with the matter. The newsletter Status earlier reported on the Verge’s plans.”

Read more here.

Chris Roush

Chris Roush was the dean of the School of Communications at Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Connecticut. He was previously Walter E. Hussman Sr. Distinguished Professor in business journalism at UNC-Chapel Hill. He is a former business journalist for Bloomberg News, Businessweek, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The Tampa Tribune and the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. He is the author of the leading business reporting textbook "Show me the Money: Writing Business and Economics Stories for Mass Communication" and "Thinking Things Over," a biography of former Wall Street Journal editor Vermont Royster.