Economist to launch pay wall

The Economist announced Tuesday it will begin experimentation with a new Website pay wall on Oct. 13.

The existing pay wall, which allows non-subscribers to the magazine Web access to editorial published within the last 12 months free of charge, will now apply to all content more than 90 days old.

“This week’s print edition” — the section of The Economist’s website that allows users to browse online the current edition of the magazine — will now be available to subscribers only.

“The Economist brand has innovated and expanded online, moving beyond making the magazine available via the internet to become a hub for intelligent discussion and debate,” said Ben Edwards, publisher of The Economist’s website, in a statement. “Our intention is to continue to develop intelligent discussion as a free, advertising-supported experience, but to charge for the weekly magazine online.”

“Through “This week’s print edition” we offer readers an online experience of reading the magazine,” added Edwards. “We consider this to be a premium reading experience and plan to develop the online edition of our magazine for our most loyal and engaged readers: subscribers. We will continue to encourage both subscribers and non-subscribers to participate in the extraordinary discussions we host on www.economist.com, Facebook and elsewhere, catalysed by our breaking news commentary, our blogs and audio-visual content, and by our award-winning debates.”