I loved you, New York Times...

Yesterday The New York Times' website implemented its long-awaited (dreaded, in my case) pay wall, that limits online readers to 20 free articles a month before it asks (requires) that they subscribe.

Twenty free articles a month might sound fine and dandy to... well, I don't know who... but I probably go through that many in a day or two. Many people do. Of course, the easy solution to that is obvious: subscribe! But. I'm in college. I am poor. And I am desperately cheap.

From the Times Publisher Arthur Sulzberger Jr. (you can read his entire explanation letter here):

"As you have seen during this recent period of extraordinary global news, The Times is uniquely positioned to keep you informed. The launching of our digital subscription model will help ensure that we can continue to provide you with the high-quality journalism and substantive analysis that you have come to expect from The Times."

I mean, I get it. Newspapers all over the world are struggling to keep afloat. But that doesn't mean I'm not going to pout about it.

I love the Times for that "high-quality journalism and substantive analysis" Sulzberger was talking about. I've defended the Times (and CNN as well) to people who have called it liberal hoopla (in so many words...) because, lets face it, they are the best at the NEWS part. Just because I'm a conservative doesn't mean I should have to suffer through FOX News (or, heaven forbid, the Fox News website) and shun everything else. I don't have to agree with every Op-Ed column that appears in the Times to acknowledge that it is good at what it does.

I'm not sure whether or not I'll subscribe. Perhaps after the first month of rationing I"ll change my mind, but for now I'm disappointed enough to do without.

For reporters, there's an app for that

For now I have a plain-old flip phone, but if an iPhone or some type of smartphone is in my future, I will certainly take a look at the kind of apps that are handy for a reporter to have.

Wes Baker e-mailed me a link today to a list on poynter.org of eight must-have apps for reporters.

I suppose it's not a matter of if, but when. As every technology matures, we all eventually have it. From TVs, to color TVs, to cable, to PCs, to cellphones, to laptops, to HDTV, etc.

News reporters need everything at their disposal possible these days. More than ever it is important to get the news to the audience first. He who is first, gets the most traffic. And eyeballs equal dollar signs.

The Daily running into hurdles it might not clear

The Daily is off to a rocky start. Glitches have kept the free trial period going well beyond the original two weeks that Verizon sponsored. A story on paidcontent.org says the free trial extensions could continue for several weeks. The Daily is also having problems with slow load times.

Maybe enough will stay with it when it comes time to pay, but the glitches will have to be gone. I've been a part of launches, and no matter how well something tests there will always be glitches after you go live.

I had intended to blog about what critics were saying about a week ago. Then today this news is out there. I am sure that Mark Potts, who writes the blog The Recovering Journalist, is not surprised.

Potts wrote soon after The Daily's debut that he was not impressed. Potts spent some time with The Daily, which I haven't been able to do. (Anybody have an iPad they don't want?) He wrote that The Daily was not blazing a trail, that it was old-style journalists still trying to do old-style journalism in a digital format that he doesn't think has a chance to work. And he wasn't impressed with the content either.

I wrote in a previous post that The Daily sounded like something that might work. But after reading Potts' critique and some others, I'm not so sure.

Few can't-miss ideas work, and in the digital news space there are a lot of failed ideas that sound really good. If you want to do something that works online and makes money, copy someone. It's incredibly difficult to bring to market the next great idea. But you can find a model that works, adapt it to your product and make it profitable.

A former page designer colleague used to say "talent creates, genius steals." Solomon said there is nothing new under the sun. The Daily is trying to build the latest, greatest news business model. What they probably need to do is steal some ideas from other things that work. Otherwise, The Daily could have a short shelf life.