The issue is coming to a head now as The New York Times' public editor reports that executive editor Bill Keller has said that the paper will decide "within weeks" whether to erect a paywall. Some in the journalism business think newspapers won't be able to survive unless they start charging online readers. Others think it'll be the beginning of the end, as readers flee to free sources of news -- and as advertisers follow them.

What do you think? Together, the mediabistro blogs are going to try to "crowdsource" the answer. The principle of the "wisdom of crowds" says a large group of people can correctly predict the answer to a question like this. So tell us what you think. And then get your colleagues and friends to answer as well. The more people who participate, the more likely we'll get the right answer.