Two of the nation's top newspapers announced Monday that they will take down their paywalls for the election on Tuesday.
The New York Times will give all users unlimited access to its content online and on mobile apps from 6 p.m. EST on Tuesday -- shortly before the first polls close -- through 6 pm EST the following day. Likewise, The Wall Street Journal is planning to drop its digital paywall from 5 p.m. EST on Tuesday through 5 p.m. EST Wednesday.
The two publications have dropped their paywalls several times in the past for major breaking news events, including most recently for Hurricane Sandy. For a natural disaster like Sandy, the move allows the publications to provide much-needed updates to those who need it, regardless of whether they are subscribers. In the case of the election, however, the move is arguably also an effort to showcase the quality of their breaking news content to those who are not already subscribing to it.
Ordinarily, the Times limits non-subscribers to 10 articles per month. The Journal doesn't have a set limit for free articles, but instead places certain stories behind its paywall.
Image courtesy Flickr, ep_jhu
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