NYTimes Announces Paywall, Twitter Immediately Finds Ways Around It

It's not the first newspaper to put up a paywall, but the New York Times is certainly getting a lot of flack on Twitter for its subscription plan announcement. They pushed out the news by buying a promoted trend yesterday, and Twitter jumped on it - to voice their dislike, and even to offer ways to access Times' content without paying. The New York Times purchased #NYTimesNews yesterday as a promoted trend, and pushed out this tweet along with it: The "Digital Subscription Plan" costs $35 a month for total access, which includes access to the website, mobile phone app, and iPad app. It won't be necessary for anyone who reads 20 or fewer New York Times articles a month, but once you click on your 21st, be prepared to pay, they warn. This hefty price tag to access digital content did not please Twitter. The outcry against the subscription plan was almost universal, as people panned the Times' on its own purchased hashtag. Alongside this, Nieman Journalism Lab notes that it also triggered a larger discussion of what journalism means to people, and how much they're willing to pay to get at the quality stuff. However, most Twitter users weren't happy with the news, and didn't hesitate to jump on #NYTimesNews to say so. Amidst this outcry, a few resourceful Twitter users pointed out that content from the NYTimes Twitter account would not be part of the subscription plan, and would thus be able to be read for free. Here are just some of the New York Times Twitter accounts you should follow if you want to access their articles for free: @NYTimes - this is the general New York Times Twitter account @NYTimesBooks - you can read book reviews and author interviews from this Twitter account @NYTimesBusiness - business news from the New York Times @NYTimesVisual - multimedia and interactive features @NYTimesNational - national news @NYTimesOpinion - Op-eds from the New York Times @NYTimesPolitics - national political news @NYTimesBits - tech and business news and analysis @NYTimesWorld - world news from the New York Times You can view the complete list of Twitter accounts associated with the New York Times here. A new Twitter account called @FreeNYT has also popped up, whose bio reads: "Readers who come to Times articles through Twitter will be able to read those articles, even if they have reached their monthly reading limit. Coming soon..."

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NYTimes Announces Paywall, Twitter Immediately Finds Ways Around It

Lauren Dugan

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Lauren Dugan