Pittsburgh paper to launch 'members-only' website

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette said "PG+" would be a "members-only website with interactive features and exclusive content" available to subscribers for 36 dollars a year or for 3.99 dollars a month.

It said "PG+" would not replace Post-Gazette.com, the newspaper's current website, but would feature "a new stream of exclusive blogs, videos, live chats and behind-the-scenes insights into the news of the day."

Post-Gazette.com will continue to provide its mix of content and would remain free, the newspaper said.

The Post-Gazette's move comes as newspapers across the United States grapple with a steep plunge in print advertising revenue, steadily declining circulation and the migration of readers to free news online.

According to the Los Angeles Times, Rupert Murdoch's media giant News Corp. is holding talks with other leading newspaper publishers on forming a consortium that would charge for news online and on portable devices.

The newspaper said News Corp.'s chief digital officer, Jonathan Miller, is believed to have met with representatives of The New York Times Co., Washington Post Co., Hearst Corp. and Tribune Co., publisher of the Los Angeles Times.

Media analysts have been engaged in a fierce debate over whether readers would be willing to pay for news online after becoming accustomed for so many years to getting it for free.

(c) 2009 AFP