Why Price of The Dallas News Just Went Up

First, The Dallas Morning News was going to begin charging for online content December 14; then came a delay. But this morning comes The Official Word, via online story (still free!) and press release, outlining the "The Next Generation" in A.H. Belo news delivery.

What the story says that the release doesn't is that subscribers saw their print product price tag jump January 1 to an "all-inclusive" $33.95, up from $30, even though the paywall doesn't get erected till February 15, at which point the so-called "subscriber content" will be available only to, ya know, subscribers. Starting next month, access to "proprietary news and information developed by The News' local news, sports and other journalists" will run you $16.95 if you don't take the paper.

A sneak preview at the stuff you'll have to pay to peek is coming January 18. Also forthcoming on that date, as outlined earlier: new iPhone and iPad apps, and "a new design and streamlined navigation" for The News's website. From the look of the preview at top -- and from the sound of it -- the paper's website should look very much like The New York Times's.

Says News publisher and CEO Jim Moroney in the release, "As we have been saying for some time, we're much more than a newspaper company; we're a news media company. These digital initiatives will enhance our ability to publish important news and information for our customers on the platform of their choice. The relevant, local content generated by our newsroom, one of the largest among metropolitan newspapers in the country, remains at the core of how we serve our readers and advertisers."