Schenectady 'Daily Gazette' Returns to Paid-Only Web Site

By: E&P Staff Beginning Aug. 3, The Daily Gazette of Schenectady, N.Y. will revert its Web site to a paid-only format.

In a statement posted on the Gazette's Web site Sunday, managing editor Judy Patrick said, "For us, the decision became fairly simple. The news we produce has value and we want to protect it in a way that best serves our loyal subscribers and our business."

After the changeover, subscribers will receive unlimited content from the Gazette's Web site, including access to the newspaper's e-edition. Non-subscribers will be able to access some content, including blogs, TV schedules, photo galleries, and breaking news. They will not, however, be able to read the full text of the paper's local stories, reviews, obituaries and columns or post comments on stories.

The Gazette began offering its Web site for free in December 2007, much later than most other papers. "[W]hile most of us in the newsroom were anxious to aggressively join the online competition, people on the business side of our operation didn?t much like the idea of giving our product away for free. It didn?t make sense," Patrick wrote.

Currently, home delivery of the Gazette costs $4/week. That fee will now cover a special combo subscription to both the print and Web site. Online-only subscriptions to the Gazette are also available, for $2.95 a week.