• Newsosaur, Tuesday, April 7, 2009 10:15 AM

At this week's annual meeting of the Newspaper Association of America, newspaper executives are holding private talks about the possibility of charging for their online or mobile content. The under-the-radar discussions include a sit-down among several CEOs held separately from the convention. A lawyer is on hand to ensure the talks don't stray into inappropriate antitrust territory.

The main topic is whether and how to charge for the expensively produced newspaper content that today is available for free at most newspaper sites. Insiders say other topics include: how to recover some of the classified advertising business that has been usurped by Craig'sList and how to get more of the $10.8 billion in search revenues that represented 46% of all U.S. online advertising revenues in 2008.

Newspapers, desperate to replace the $11.6 billion in ad sales that have vanished since 2005, seem to have no choice but to consider charging for some now-free interactive content.

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