Publishers are Using a Starbucks Wi-Fi Program to Hunt for New Readers

These days newspapers are scrupulously focusing on eliminating the ways that people can circumvent their paywalls. But some news publishers are finding that a Starbucks pilot program that launched late last year appears to be a worthwhile exception to that rule.

The test, which began as a response to a Starbucks decision to stop selling physical newspapers at its stores, lets anybody who logs into the Wi-Fi service at a Starbucks venue free access to several newspaper websites; many of them usually maintain a paywall.

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