“No man but a blockhead ever wrote except for money.” — Samuel Johnson
Today, my newspaper, the Orange County Register, instituted a paywall on its website, www.ocregister.com.
That means, dear blognescenti, that you can no longer read the scribbles of your favorite music critic appearing on the Register’s website for free. That means that the links on this blog that send you to the Register’s site are no longer any good, unless you are a Register subscriber.
Right now you can sign up for a free seven-day trial subscription. You can also buy a “Day Pass” or, of course, subscribe.
The paywall is a long time coming, in my opinion. Contrary to what you often hear, information is not free. (In fact, over the last few years, it cost the jobs of half the newsroom at the newspaper.)
On the other hand, the paywall puts me in a bit of a spot with this blog. I doubt my readers outside of the county will want to pay for a subscription to the Register, though it is a vastly improved newspaper of late.
You will continue to be able to read this blog for free, however. This is my personal website, and not associated with the Register. It’s, like, a hobby. I’m a blockhead, I guess. As we move forward, I’ll attempt to write more blog-centric material for your reading pleasure.
Update: For what it’s worth, all Register online content 90 days or older will apparently be free, though that feature doesn’t seem to be working at the moment.
