Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Google May Limit Free News Access

Posted by kdawson on from the bend-like-a-willow dept.

You know how, if you want to read a paywalled newspaper article, you can just paste its title into Google News and get a free pass? Those days may be coming to an end. Reader Captian Spazzz writes: "It looks like Google may be bowing to pressure from folks like News Corp.'s Rupert Murdoch. What I don't understand is what prevents the websites themselves from enforcing some limit. Why make Google do it?" (Danny Sullivan explains how they could do that.) "Newspaper publishers will now be able to set a limit on the number of free news articles people can read through Google, the company has announced. The concession follows claims from some media companies that the search engine is profiting from online news pages. Publishers will join a First Click Free programme that will prevent web surfers from having unrestricted access. Users who click on more than five articles in a day may be routed to payment or registration pages."

6 of 236 comments (clear)

  1. I for one welcome this by AmiMoJo · · Score: 4, Funny

    Anything which reduces the readership of Murdoch's media is a good thing.

    --
    const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
    SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
    1. Re:I for one welcome this by Rogerborg · · Score: 3, Funny

      Anything which reduces the readership of Murdoch's media is a good thing.

      My God, are you actually suggesting that we murder readers of Murdoch's media?

      If so, where do I sign up?

      --
      If you were blocking sigs, you wouldn't have to read this.
    2. Re:I for one welcome this by Rufty · · Score: 1, Funny

      Oi! Back of the queue!

      --
      Red to red, black to black. Switch it on, but stand well back.
  2. Re:It's important to remember that ... by krou · · Score: 2, Funny

    .. a big corporate newspaper is like any big corporation.

    Was it the word corporate that gave it away? ;)

    --
    'If Christ had tweeted the sermon on the mount, it might have lasted until nightfall.' - John Perry Barlow
  3. Re:What really pisses me right off about paywalled by Smegly · · Score: 3, Funny

    Are you sure your university doesn't give you a login to use to access journals off-campus?

    and if they do, please post it to BugMeNot.

  4. Re:Here comes a troll or flamebait tag, but ... by mcgrew · · Score: 2, Funny

    Why is this a YRO story? In all seriousness, it's a "newspaper's rights online."

    If you own a newspsper, it is exactly your rights online.

    --
    Free Martian Whores!