New York Magazine Poll: Newspapers and New Media Neck and Neck, But No One Willing To Pay

By Drew Grant on November 13, 2009 4:45 PM

New York Magazine asked 100 residents walking down the street in SoHo where they got their news from, as part of their poll on whether information and entertainment should be free. The results were somewhat surprising: 26 answered online newspapers, while one more person answered in favor of their physical equivalent (see, traditional journalism isn’t entirely dead yet!).

Of course, that doesn’t take into account the 5 people who said “online blogs/aggregators,” which we find a surprisingly low number. Then again, this is SoHo: At least half the people still employed in the area work in couture retail, and probably retain their subscriptions to fashion mags.

When asked about The New York Times plan to put their content behind a pay wall, 65 percent of those who answered said it would make the publication less successful, and 63 of those polled said they would pay “nothing” (on a scale of $2 a day to $100 a year) to read The Times online.

Maybe New York Magazine should have asked if the same held true for paying for Women’s Wear Daily, the “bible” of fashion magazine which does charge readers for access to their site.

Read More: What You Pay For

Previously: Times’ Keller: Within Weeks Of Decision On Pay Wall