Dispatch.com Now Limiting Free Access to Some Online Articles

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Dispatch.com Now Limiting Free Access to Some Online Articles

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Started 10 months ago by arualpalm
Latest reply from musicfan2

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arualpalm

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So, I go to dispatch.com for part of my local news. Now, they are asking me to pay?? Does anyone know a work-around for this? I really look forward to their Thursday dining features but do not want to pay for the paper or their online site......

"Thanks for being a frequent visitor to dispatch.com! You've now viewed your monthly quota of 10 free premium articles. Want to read more? Become a Digital D Subscriber and enjoy unlimited access to award-winning content that can't be found anywhere else. Simply upgrade your existing print subscription for $2-5 per month, or become a new Digital D subscriber"

Posted 10 months ago #
ricospaz

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Yep. Apparently this just started yesterday. I read the paper online M-Saturday and get the Sunday Edition at home. Damn them. Checking rates it's $9.99 for Sunday only, $14.99 for Sunday plus online. I hope the Dispatch fails and we become the largest city with no daily newspaper.

Posted 10 months ago #
News
Columbus Underground
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From their FAQ:

http://www.dispatch.com/content/sections/services/faq.html

I am a Dispatch home delivery subscriber; do I get unlimited access to premium dispatch.com content and the E-Edition as part of my subscription?

As a home delivery subscriber of The Columbus Dispatch, you will receive access to dispatch.com for up to 10 premium content stories per month. Additional stories, as well as access to the E-Edition, are available for a nominal fee per month. This is called Digital D and this can be seamlessly added to your home delivery account.

What is the difference between dispatch.com and the E-Edition?

Dispatch.com is the web site of The Columbus Dispatch, where you can find up-to-the-minute news, as well as videos, blogs, photo galleries and more. The E-Edition is a digital replica of the printed paper. On your computer screen or iPad, the E-Edition looks identical to that day’s newspaper. We offer E-Edition and unlimited access to dispatch.com together as Digital D. These options allow you to receive the full breadth of The Columbus Dispatch’s in-depth, award-winning news coverage.

What if I don't want to subscribe to Digital D — can I still read dispatch.com for free?

Visitors can enjoy 10 free premium-content articles (including blog posts) each calendar month on dispatch.com, as well as unrestricted access to browse the home page, section fronts, blog fronts, multi-media and classifieds.

Your free, limited access resets every month: at the beginning of each calendar month, you'll once again be able to view 10 free articles for that month.

MORE: http://www.dispatch.com/content/sections/services/faq.html

Posted 10 months ago #
mrpoppinzs
Arena District
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That sucks, for all I like to rag on the Dispatch it does a pretty good job of reporting local events. I don't think the other local news sites are anywhere near as comprehensive.

Posted 10 months ago #
Graybeak
Hunky Town
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They certainly have a different definition of the word premium than I do.
I wonder how long before this trickles down to 10tv.com.

Posted 10 months ago #
Snarf
Dystopia
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Columbus Dickspatch

Posted 10 months ago #
ChrisSunami
King-Lincoln District
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I think it would be a smarter move for them to include this for their regular subscribers. I'm not 100% sure but I think that's how the NYT does it. Doing it this way is kind of a slap in the face to those of us who do subscribe to the print edition.

Posted 10 months ago #
Walker
The KLD / Downtown / Gay Street
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I seem to recall The Dispatch having a paywall in the early-to-mid 2000s, but they took it down.

Will be interesting to see how their audience and customers respond to this.

Posted 10 months ago #
ricospaz

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Snarf said:
Columbus Dickspatch

+1 - made me laugh. I'm online chattng with them now. I'm paid thru 11/11/12 yet they expect me to do an initial payment to change my subscription to include the online edition!

Posted 10 months ago #
ricospaz

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Damn and they can't make the change until tomorrow. Guess I'll have to be like everyone else and go buy today's paper..

Posted 10 months ago #
Walker
The KLD / Downtown / Gay Street
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ricospaz said:
Guess I'll have to be like everyone else and go buy today's paper..

I'm not quite sure that's what everyone else will do.

Posted 10 months ago #
ricospaz

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haha well I can't burn the building down.. I need my news. Sports on CU are lacking. :)

Posted 10 months ago #
th0m
Beechwold
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In theory you might be able to Google the article title, and then click on the link from there, or possibly also change the "agent" in your browser to be the same as the Google indexing robot. Both of these options work on many paywalled sites because they can't take the hit from not being indexed or findable from Google.

That being said, this is theft, and not theft in an MP3 of a CD you'd never buy anyway kind of theft that supports some kind of entrenched monopoly that steals from artists... well, maybe at least not entirely... but this is however a great opportunity to think about your choices in news and who you do want to buy (or not buy) news from.

Newspapers never have been in the business of selling news. Maybe Bloomberg information services, or having a subscription to the AP wire, that's perhaps buying news.

Posted 10 months ago #
lizless
Columbus/Hocking Hills
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New York Times and the Nation Magazine both charge about $2/mo for online stories above a certain number (I believe it's 10 stories like Dispatch). I do pay for it each month, I hate having paper lying around.

It sucks that people who already get the paper delivered have to pay extra for it, kind of a salty move.

Since I only read online, I'll pay the monthly fee.

Posted 10 months ago #
Walker
The KLD / Downtown / Gay Street
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ricospaz said:
I need my news. Sports on CU are lacking. :)

Nowhere else on the internet for sports coverage outside of The Dispatch?

Posted 10 months ago #
groundrules

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ricospaz said:
I hope the Dispatch fails and we become the largest city with no daily newspaper.

I hope this is tongue-in-cheek.

Posted 10 months ago #
bucki12
wp
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Walker said:
Nowhere else on the internet for sports coverage outside of The Dispatch?

Good for local big leagues (Buckeye football & bball, Crew, Blue Jackets), but smaller stuff - not so much.

Posted 10 months ago #
bucki12
wp
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I am not sure how others do it. But I generally look at CNN online or read/listen to NPR and read the Dispatch (for local news) and then come here to see what people are talking about.

CU is a great place to talk about certain favorite topics, but a lot of news gets filtered out or just never makes it here.

Posted 10 months ago #
cheap
Westgate
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when the Dispatch folds,and it will,city council should just buy the Dispatch with speculated tax income from the casino

without voter approval,of course.

Posted 10 months ago #
Mercurius
First Avenue
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OSU Sports: http://www.elevenwarriors.com/
OSU Recruiting: http://247sports.com/
All other: espn.com, http://sports.yahoo.com/

I do regularly read The Daily Briefing political blog--but I also have a subscription to Gongwer.
http://www.gongwer-oh.com/

Bizjournals seems to cover business and development news better (but again, not free) http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/

The Dispatch is in a precarious place I feel--because if you want content and are willing to pay, for almost every category, someone else does it better. Does this leave The Dispatch with the part of the market that just wants all of it's news in one place? Meh, good luck to them--but I doubt they will be getting a subscription from me.

Posted 10 months ago #