Media Watch

Newsday columnist quits when newspaper charges for his column

Columnist Quits After Newsday Starts Charging for Its Web Site

There aren't many journalists walking away from paying jobs these days. With news organizations struggling and newsroom jobs disappearing, each week brings new calls from writers and editors who believe their flagging employers should save themselves by charging for Internet access.

So count Saul Friedman a contrarian twice over.

Mr. Friedman, who had written a column for Newsday since 1996, quit last week over the paper's decision to require some readers to pay for access to its Web site.... NY Times.

In his note to Romenesko's  journalism colum, at the Poynter Institute, the columnist wrote:

From SAUL FRIEDMAN: Your readers may wish to know this: After 13 years of writing "Gray Matters" for Newsday and the McClatchy Trib service, and more than 50 years in newspaper journalism, (for Knight-Ridder and Newsday), I have severed relations with Newsday and will write for Ronni Bennett's Time Goes By.

I will write the weekly Gray Matters as well as a twice monthly essay, "Reflections."

The main reason: The new owners of Newsday, Cablevision, have shut
off access to its web site, even to me. It is available only to Newsday subscribers or to subscribers to Cablevision's ISP. Thus I cannot send my columns to people who don't subscribe to Newsday. And if it is picked up by Google or Yahoo, it would not be accessible.