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The New York Times has decided to start charging readers for certain premium content online, which mostly consists of material available for free right now:

Subscribers to TimesSelect will have exclusive online access to many of our most influential columnists in Op-Ed, Business, New York/Region and Sports. In addition to reading the columns, TimesSelect subscribers can also engage with our columnists through video interviews and Web-only postings.

It would seem to be the move anticipated here, although I still don't see a strategic connection between this and their acquisition of About.com, which is disappointing. Not having seen their books, I'll withhold judgment about whether the move is a mistake from a business standpoint (although I suspect Adam Penenberg's arguments are transferable). Certainly it will diminish the influence of star columnists like Krugman and Brooks, which will in turn reduce the site's clout in the political blogosphere. And of course, to the extent that quality reporting is made less available, the blogosphere (which mostly has to rely on MSM for original reporting) will suffer.

Please note that no subscriptions are (or ever will be) required for the influential commentary you read here at locussolus!