Published August 17, 2010

I have been thinking more about the new Telegram.com pricing model. I don’t think it’s a new paradigm. I think it’s just another way to sell newspapers.

Let me break it down:

• If you subscribe to the print edition of the Worcester Telegram & Gazette, you get unlimited access to the website.
• If you don’t subscribe, you can join the website for $15 a month.
• If you pay to join the website, you get a complimentary seven-day subscription to the newspaper. What’s more, if you do the arithmetic, it turns out the old-fashioned newspaper subscription is basically the same price (actually a dollar cheaper per month). The “online” subscription is billed monthly; the print subscription is billed semi-annually.
• Both subscriptions give you the exact same thing.

Either the T&G has done a bad job explaining the change or we have a done a bad job reporting on it. (I think it’s the latter.)

It’s important to note the 10-article limit for non-subscribers only covers stories with T&G bylines. Everything else remains free. From the site’s FAQ:

The free information includes breaking news bulletins, articles obtained from news services, obituaries, all advertising, local blogs, photo galleries and videos. All information from the newspaper’s weekly products, available on TelegramTowns.com, will also remain free.

So, honestly, if you’re reading more than 10 original Telegram & Gazette stories every month, why not give them 15 bucks? Local news is expensive.