ST website to charge for access from Mar 15

• EricDraven

  24 Feb 05, 18:37

  SINGAPORE'S most-read English language news website, The Straits Times Interactive (STI), will no longer be a free-access one.
  
  Come March 15, access to the 10-year-old online version of The Straits Times will be by subscription only. It will be only the second internet news site in Singapore to do this after The Business Times.
  
  
  
  
• wcafe

  24 Feb 05, 18:39

  Guess what, then I'll just stick to the print version... I'm sure most people would do the same...
• Rhonda

  24 Feb 05, 18:48

  You're right, most of us will just stick to the print version.
• YA.YA

  24 Feb 05, 18:58

  Yeah i have to agree with you guys, i will still stick with the print version.
• SBS9611D

  24 Feb 05, 19:03

  First, they need membership, now they want us to pay?
  
  I'm sticking to Channel Newsasia's webbie. It refreshes often with the breaking news. Much better.
• EricDraven

  24 Feb 05, 19:03

  I cancelled the print subscription because I don't see the point of paying for something that I can view online...
  
  Now that I can't access ST online, I guess I will switch to Today online for local news... And my office has BT, so don't see the point of paying... No time to slowly read through every article nowadays...
  
  News are everywhere now... don't really see the point of paying... unless it's premium real-time information like Bloomberg or Reuters news...
  
  That's my take...
• sbst275

  24 Feb 05, 20:18

  They are very special... ZB all these dun need
• octega

  24 Feb 05, 20:38

  So this is the purpose of changing to the login method...
  
  Simple, I just switch to Channel News Asia. I will strike ST website off my bookmark list.
  
  Well.....the connectivity to their server will increase for sure but their popularity will dip for sure also.
• wcafe

  24 Feb 05, 20:49

  The managing editor of Singapore Press Holdings' English and Malay Newspapers Division Patrick Daniel explains the reason for the change:
  
  'We believe that we have a good and valuable product that users will be prepared to pay for. It's also not a tenable business model to charge for the print edition, and not for the online edition.'
  
  <<< The editor has underestimated the stinginess of Singaporeans. You start charging for stuff and people will just look for alternatives. Like said above, channel newsasia is free and there are so many free web sources online... Bye straitstimes online...
• SydneyLibrarian

  25 Feb 05, 04:32

  Too bad for them. It just means that my friends & I (Singaporeans living overseas) will just have to switch to another site to view our news... like Channel News Asia for instance!
• Joshua1975

  25 Feb 05, 04:55

  what news can there be in Singapore. news that are only allowed by the GOV are not news at all. it call PROPAGANDA.
  
  
• mercutioz

  25 Feb 05, 13:13

  revert back to printed copy....
• poon cho tang

  25 Feb 05, 13:17

  demand and supply re-adjusts to achieve a new equilibrium (or non-equilibrium) point
• dcx

  25 Feb 05, 14:01

  Unless all the other news oline webbies also start to charge...stonline will not make any $$$ out from this....
  
  
• sbst275

  25 Feb 05, 14:34

  Channel News Asia will be a choice