>When The Times introduced a paywall, the number of people looking at their digital service dropped by 98.7% (from 22m to around 300,000), yet the switch was a huge financial success.

But for how long? I'm fairly certain that once those 300,000 loyal readers kick the bucket that The Times' digital subscription service will too.

How is 22 million regular readers (who will keep coming back and telling their friends about your articles, because they're free) worth less than 300,000 paying subscribers (who for some reason absolutely have to read what's in The Times no matter the price, and would probably have a hard time encouraging others to be so vehement).

Not to mention the types of journalists you will attract with a readership of a very small city, vs the readership of the population of New York State.