Months away from a paid model

According to the New York Times,

Journalism Online, says that within months it will have a system operating and in use by hundreds of Web sites.

Its founder Steve Brill has said that he had

nonbinding letters of intent from companies that own more than 1,000 news and information Web sites — large and small, domestic and foreign — but would not name any of them. Mr. Brill said he expected a beta version of a payment system to go into use in November or December, and be in use within months on hundreds of sites.

The model appears to be that journalism online will retain 20 per cent of the income from the publisher.

Its rational is that

Serious journalism has always required payments by consumers, a lesson now being remembered as it becomes clear that online advertising revenue alone will not sustain robust, independent news departments, whether for newspapers or online-only publishers. Everyone, from readers to reporters, is facing the consequences as news organizations of all kinds are forced to cut back.

We await with baited breath