E-Media Tidbits

Six years ago, when I first paid for online content, the price of the Wall Street Journal Online was $49.95 for non-print subscribers. I was curious about subscribing to the publication in an online format, and while I generally have been happy about the service (I canceled my Sunday New York Times print subscription a couple years ago because the delivery was inconsistent) -- it's good information and it's there when I want it -- the latest price increase has made me almost, but not quite, ready to end my foray into the pay-for-content experiment.

I must now pay $99 (and how's this for a Freudian error: I first typed "not" rather than "now"), the new standard annual subscription rate and a $20 INCREASE from last year. If I were a print subscriber, I'd get a $50 discount off my Online Journal subscription.

I certainly understand the value of the Wall Street Journal without the condescending e-mail form letter I received with the well-buried price increase from Todd H. Larsen, president of the Online Journal.

So, if content providers wonder when they've pushed the envelope too far, this is the wall -- at least for me. Not one penny more. And I'm just a little angry with myself for re-upping (although I have two weeks to change my mind).

And by the way: The new Saturday Wall Street Journal is an empty suit. I'm a "saver," but I didn't even keep the first issue on September 17 as any kind of keepsake. I was stunned at the lack of anything I considered special, entertaining, or enticing, particularly compared to the Friday Weekend section of the publication. I've been part of many start-up editions of publications, and this one, for all its pre-press publicity, totally disappointed me and added no value to my online subscription.