Canada's Toronto Star to charge for online news

The Toronto daily's publisher John Cruickshank said the paid subscription to access stories and features on its website, thestar.com, would be rolled out in 2013.

Pricing and other details are to be announced in the coming months, he said.

Canada's national daily, The Globe and Mail, last Monday began charging readers a Can$20 monthly subscription to access news on its website, which can be accessed from a computer, tablet or mobile phone.

The Globe had said it needed to boost revenues amid sliding advertising sales as readers turn more and more to the Internet for news, shunning print media.

The Globe's move followed that of The New York Times Co, which began charging in March 2011 for full access to NYTimes.com. The US company said in April it was beginning to pay off.

Other newspapers have been using paywalls with varying degrees of success.

The New York Times Co. in October 2011 also launched a subscription-only website for the Boston Globe, which it owns.

As well, four newspapers across Canada owned by Postmedia - namely the National Post, Ottawa Citizen, Vancouver Province and Vancouver Sun - all started in August asking readers to pay for online content. The remaining papers in the chain will erect paywalls next year.

Source: AFP via I-Net Bridge