Paywalls

Last week, Cablevision decided that Newsday, its subsidiary, would have to set up a paywall forcing non-subscribers to pay for any online content.

Newsday columnist Saul Freeman left the magazine in protest of this decision. He felt his work should be circulated as widely as possible, regardless of cost.

This situation starkly contrasts the changing media landscape in that it contrasts financial security of a news organization (the paywall) with the interests of the writers (circulation size).

Journalism must find a way to balance these two interests in order to survive economically, continue to draw readers and keep its writers happy.

There is no obvious solution now, but a balance must be struck in order to allow journalism to prevail through the coming years of change.