• Editor and Publisher, Thursday, November 10, 2005 2:09 PM

The New York Times has disclosed that about 135,000 Net surfers have signed up for its online TimesSelect program, which requires payment in order to read the paper's lineup of all-star columnists. Subscribers to TimesSelect pay either a $7.95 monthly fee or a $49.95 annual fee, which, in addition to the columnists (Maureen Dowd, Tom Friedman, others), permits access to certain bonus material. TimesSelect, which is being carefully watched throughout the newspaper industry, began two months ago. The paper also said yesterday that more than 90 percent of those who had signed up for a 14-day free trial have converted to paying customers. "We're delighted with the enthusiastic response," said the Times' senior VP for digital operations.

Read the whole story at Editor and Publisher »