They don’t seem to realize that one of the reasons so many people come in through the front page is it is free (often now when I see a link to an interesting NY Times story, I’ll just go to the site since there will be other articles I want to read).

More people will come to stories in other ways when they erect the paywall er start the meter running.

Some people will subscribe (more if those who want it to be less expensive get their way), but many will not.

Though I guess people could always just go to the library and read the New York Times in print which has no meter running on how many stories one can read.

Another problem they will face is what happens when there is a major story like Haiti that people keep coming back for updates?  People who normally won’t exhaust their “meter” will.

Again, some will pay but others will just be frustrated and turn to other sources.

And if blogs are included, this could happen even faster.  Will each time you reload a Lede blog gathering coverage of an Iran protest be an article view?  Or you refresh a liveblog of the Oscars? 

If that is the case, people may go to the Guardian or Andrew Sullivan for Iran coverage and hundreds of other sites (or just a hashtag on twitter) for the Oscars.

Also, the Times has put a lot of effort into social media over the last year and people have responded.  I imagine more readers are coming in through twitter, facebook, and blogs than in the past.  Even though it isn’t a huge number now, it has ripples.

If there are limits on the free articles from links, people will be less likely to post a link to a Times story.  They will either find another news source for the story or link to a summary on a site like HuffPost.

Outside.in announced that it has formed partnerships with some a number of newspaper publishers to supply hyperlocal news services. The company said they have signed deals with The Miami Herald, Dow Jones Local Media Group, New York Post, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, and properties of the Tribune Company, including Chicago Tribune, Chicago Breaking News, ChicagoNow, and the Baltimore Sun.

Publishers using the Outside.in Publishers platform "can create customized and curated hyperlocal news sections, add tagged news maps, and curate the aggregated news feeds to fit their editorial guidelines," according to the company's release.

The company's release explains that they have managed to get over 4,000 bloggers to be part of the network. I tested their site by searching for local news and found news from a number of newspaper sites, though I do not know whether these sites have "opted-in" or are simply having their news aggregated. This will be interesting to follow since aggregating with a third party could lead to competitors feeding each other content -- something that I have no objection to, though I know a lot of newspaper people who would still feel queasy about seeing their competitors content show up on their own hyperlocal news pages.