This is kinda old but Matt Goldberg of Automatic Media has some interesting things to say on Plastic about Salon's new subscription model and related issues: "Maybe it's just a question of unhealthy precedent, this widespread expectation that the function of the Internet is to act like some endlessly indulgent parent, to provide us with something for nothing. This inclination to confuse a gift economy with a license to be rude, all the while telling ourselves we're being smart consumers or that we're striking a blow against the media-industrial complex."

He also brings up the interesting point that charging for a no-advertising version of something, while having the ad-supported version remain free creates an interesting dilemma -- i.e., the most valuable (dedicated/frequent/serious and possibly more affluent and willing-to-spend-money) members of your audience are not available to your advertisers. Basically, you're likely to be selling them the less-engaged, the cheapskates, and the broke (a gross generalization, I realize, but...) -- not usually high on the target list. This is unlike mediums such as magazines or newspapers, which are either completely free and ad-supported, (rarely) completely subscription-supported, or (mostly commonly) supported by both ads and subscriptions -- advertisers always being more willing when they know audience has put money down and is, therefore, demonstrably more serious.