Worth reading is this article from the NY Times:
The number of newspapers and other media entities that are erecting paywalls or launching subscription-based apps for the iPhone and iPad continues to grow, and even some smaller regional newspapers are throwing up walls to try to protect their print subscriptions. Other publishers, however, have found alternative methods of monetizing their content — such as packaging their older content in different formats to appeal to readers in different ways, including e-books and special feature offerings like those The New Yorker has started selling. While these may not fill the yawning gap that continues to grow between print revenue and online revenue, they are arguably a more creative response than a pay wall.
As Reuters’ blogger Felix Salmon notes in a recent post about The New Yorker’s approach, the venerable magazine has a treasure trove of past content that it has been able to bundle into easily digestible chunks and offer as one-off iPad packages — most of which are sponsored by an advertiser or a group of advertisers and are either available to existing subscribers through the magazine’s iPad app, or can be bought for as little as $2.99 through iTunes.
More in the article. Thanks to Michael von Glahn for the link.
Imho a weak article not saying much of any value.
It seems to me that this issue of selling historical content is a low level, low demand revenue stream that has little potential for anything other than a side business.
I believe that nothing less than a comprehensive Micro Payment system can help these businesses succeed into the future.