The New York Times will begin charging for access to its website in January, its editor revealed Thursday evening.
The Wall Street Journal reports that NYT executive editor Bill Keller made the remarks at a dinner for the Foreign Press Association.
In January, the newspaper announced plans to enact a "metered model" for its website, in which users would receive a set number of articles for free and be forced to pay for any articles beyond that limit. The announcement said the plan would go into effect in early 2011, but did not specify when. Keller's comments Thursday clarify that it will be in January.
"This will enable NYTimes.com to create a second revenue stream and preserve its robust advertising business," the newspaper said at the time. "It will also provide the necessary flexibility to keep an appropriate ratio between free and paid content and stay connected to a search-driven Web."
A recent survey revealed that most Americans are not willing to pay for their news online: 82% of respondents to a Pew survey who said they had a favorite news site said they would look elsewhere if that site began to charge.
Will you pay for NYTimes.com?