The Internet just got a little less free. The NYT wants to start charging non-subscribers to read columnists online.

An excerpt:

Most of the material on the Web site, NYTimes.com, will remain free to users, The Times said, but columnists from The Times and The International Herald Tribune will be available only to users who sign up for TimesSelect, which will cost $49.95 annually.

The new service, which is scheduled to start in September, will be provided automatically to home-delivery subscribers of the newspaper.

TimesSelect will also provide subscribers access to TimesPast, the paper's archives; exclusive multimedia, including audio and photo essays and video; TimesFile, a tool that will help users organize articles; and Ahead of The Times, which will allow subscribers to take an early look at articles that will appear in The New York Times Magazine, and the newspaper's Travel, Sunday Arts and Real Estate sections.

Addendum:

PaidContent.com did an interview today on this topice with Martin Neisenholtz, senior vice-president, digital, of the NYT Co.

Here are some excerpts:

On the timing: NYT.com has offered premium products for nearly 10 years, including archive access and crosswords. The planning for this particular offering has been underway since late last year, with considerable research, including at least two online surveys. "We all know at some point in the future the advertising revenue streams flowing online are going to start to mature and (by launching this now) we're going to be better prepared at that time."
On closing the gates: "The vast part remains open and free but our distinct voice is now a pay product."
On advertising: Nisenholtz says the company's experience with registration bodes well for advertiser reception to a more targeted audience, a tier on top of a tier, and that higher CPMs are possible.
"I do think that the advertising community will look favorably on folks who are willing to step up and pay; after all, the premium rates we get now are in part because we've always been a registration site. We have almost 10 years of registration experience because we went way out on a limb." The Times will maintain its current standards about advertising near Op-Ed columnists but the other columnists might become an advertising draw.
On no extra charge for print subscribers: "It's part of the value of the print product. We see this overall as a Times-brand customer issue, not necessarily anything else. If you're subscribing to the Times newspaper, it's only right you should get access to this product." As for any idea that this might be a tool to keep print subscribers from going online only, "the rationale for creating this product is to create a big, new revenue stream for the web site -- we did not create this product nor are we launching it to serve a newspaper goal." The duplication factor is approximately 18 percent.
On balancing reach and revenue:When I say, we want to have our cake and eat it, too, we want to grow our inventory on the free part of the site at the same time as we continue to grow our revenue streams. That's going to be a balancing act." He hopes to increase some reach by bringing more print subscribers online. (New acquisition About also plays an important role; more on that in another post.)

And here is what industry observer Steve Outing said:

"I'm reminded of the Los Angeles Times' website putting a paid subscription wall in front of Calendar Live, the entertainment area of LATimes.com, in 2003. That site just went free a week ago. I'll go out on a limb and predict a similar path for NYT columnists within the next year or two."