New life for Linux news site
Linux news site LWN.net isn't throwing in the towel just yet. An outpouring of reader support--and money--has convinced editors to try a subscription plan.
- Shankland covered the tech industry for more than 25 years and was a science writer for five years before that. He has deep expertise in microprocessors, digital photography, computer hardware and software, internet standards, web technology, and more.
The news site announced in July that it would shut its doors because it just didn't have enough money. But the outpouring of reader support--and money--convinced editors to try a subscription plan.
"We will now try to transition LWN into a subscription-based publication, supported by the readers that benefit from it," editors wrote in a Sept. 26 posting on the site.
"Back in July, we had come to the conclusion that LWN was not a sustainable operation and that it was time for us to move on to other endeavors. The result was an amazing and unexpected show of support from our readers, in the form of donations, that caused us to rethink things," the editors wrote.
Subscriptions will cost $5 per month for access to the site's Weekly Edition feature when it's published; nonsubscribers will have to wait a week to see it. The front-page news will remain freely available.
With the slump in online advertising, times have been tough for computing enthusiast sites. The Slashdot "news for nerds" site has moved to large ads or subscriptions for fewer obstructions. PC news site Ars Technica offers premium services.
AdCritic, which had offered up countless TV ads for free, closed in 2001 and in August reopened as a for-fee service.
LWN previously had rejected the subscription idea. "Other options (such as subscriptions) have been considered in-depth, but there is little promise (and much aggravation) to be found in that direction," the editors wrote in July.