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Comment by Imnimo | Hacker News Reader

>But while some readers might not subscribe to outlets that give away some of their best journalism for free, it’s just as possible that readers will recognize this sacrifice and reward these outlets with more traffic and subscriptions in the long run.

I just don't see how you can think this given the trends of subscriber counts to various outlets over the last few decades.

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Just yesterday I started paying for a Tailscale subscription even though I don’t even fully utilize what they provide for free. I just find it valuable and am glad I have the option and ability to support them. I don’t think most people do things like that, but some do. We’ll definitely see how it works out for Wired (I’m already a subscriber there, too, due to great coverage/work).

I just subscribed. They had already been on my radar as having done some good reporting lately, and this was a good nudge to get a subscription.

Along very similar lines I’m a longtime subscriber to lwn.net even though realistically I tend to catch up there every couple of months and am almost always reading content that is free by that point. I find the service they provide valuable and the subscription fee very reasonable and I’m happy to support it.

Exactly.

We should all be grateful to any journalist doing this kind of reporting. And we should reward them with money.

I just don't see people doing more than paying lipservice to this idea.

> I just don't see people doing more than paying lipservice to this idea.

Speak for yourself.

I just subscribed as a WIRED Superfan because of this

This is old, old data, but Condé Nast supposedly does better than you'd expect because they own prestige magazine brands people actually pay for.

To be fair some people genuinely do subscribe for this, but it's best to think of it as a justification to do the "right thing".

I subscribed a few weeks ago, and this has solidified it for at least another year.

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