Want to read about the latest exploits of Bat Boy? It's gonna cost you.
Weekly World News, the source of dubious reportage like Elvis Presley sightings and pictures of shockingly obese housepets, has inked an agreement with MediaPass, which will erect a paywall for the publication. Price plans include $3.95 a month for a year's subscription, $5.95 a month for a six-month commitment and $6.95 a month on a per-month basis. MediaPass bills itself as a turnkey solution for publications that want to erect their own paywalls.
Once a fixture of supermarket checkout aisles with a print circulation of 1.2 million, Weekly World News became a strictly online entity in 2009. Since that time, it has doubled that figure in global unique visitors, according to the company. The publication follows The New York Times, Gannett's 80 newspapers and blogger Andrew Sullivan, which have all put meters on their websites in the past couple of years. Some 48% of newspapers now have paywalls, according to the Alliance for Audited Media.