If you’re getting it for nothing, why would you pay for it? Well, if you’re talking about news delivered online, about half of Americans say they would pay for it, according to a survey of 5000 people undertaken by the Boston Consulting Group.

That seems surprisingly high given the fact that America is the land of the free news. It’s so easily accessible on television or the Net that being asked to pay for it is like being asked to pay for air. Maybe that’s why those who say they would pay for news online don’t think it’s worth more than $3.00 a month. “In several Western European countries, more than 60 percent said they would pay,”writes Richard Pérez-Peña of the New York Times, adding that many would pay as much as $7 a month.

Even the higher figure is a fraction of a subscription to a printed newspapers. On the other hand, most of that subscription cost is for plant, paper and distribution. “Charging for online access to news would not greatly increase a newspaper’s revenue,” says Pérez-Peña, “ but since the cost of reaching Internet readers [is] very low, it could significantly increase profit.”

Read details in About Half in U.S. Would Pay for Online News, Study Finds.

Richard Curtis

Every Blogger owes a debt of gratitude to newspapers and magazines. This posting relies on original research and reporting performed by The New York Times.