[AreaGuy]

I'd be willing to bet it's more ease of access than price.

Both of my last jobs provided me with some subscriptions for free (i.e. Financial Times and some industry publications). Yet whenever I encountered their paywalls while browsing, I would always close the tab, since I didn't want to have to type in the password. It's embarrassing but true.

[manigandham]

So what's a good solution? Ad platforms and publishers are trying... but then maintaining your logged in status and showing you better ads requires tracking. And then people complain about being tracked.

[AreaGuy]

Great question. I clear cookies after every session on my PC, but not my phone (yet), so maybe the changing mode of transmission may provide opportunities. Fingerprint scanning is also far more convenient than passwords.

Honestly, though, the news one reads is very personal. You're reading politics, gossip, salacious stories... I don't want people to know what I'm reading, and I don't think increasing advertiser's ability to track you is the answer.

There's no reason every consumer of media has to pay for media content though. It can be supported by the top 5% or 1% of subscribers.

For example, perhaps people would pay for a membership/donation model for a higher price point -- for $500 or $900 a year, the local newspaper provides unlimited print/digital/podcasts, as well as discounted/free conferences, parties, meet & greets, social networks etc. Newspapers also add great credibility, so if there's a way to demonstrate that they've independently verified something (i.e. a 'media audit') there may be a way to monetize that.

[wtallis]

A site specific cookie to drop the paywall is totally different from cross-domain tracking of browsing habits.