The SMH website is having a paid wall garden after 30 accesses to the site. However, they have started a promotion to launch the new scheme. It's $1 for the first month, regardless of the package. Please remember to cancel or downgrade to the right package before 30 days.
The best package is $1 for full web access, full iPad/tablet app access, and home delivery of the paper for $1, which is about 3 cents per day! Bargain!
Details here: http://knownoboundaries.smh.com.au/#digitalaccess
Yep, I think this will be the case with the age. As they will give you up to 30 reads free per month. I assume they do this so they can get indexed in Google news.
You can even set up a rule to block or delete on close all cookies from the relevant domains to get around this minor inconvenience. In Google chrome anyway, not sure about the other browsers.
I don't know how these things work, but what if they're tracking you by your IP address to limit you to 30 article accesses?
I know that they are not, and they definitely wont ever. To block by its IP address would be as much trouble as the cookies system it currently uses but would block larger businesses, and would be just as easy to bypass. The only way to get it to work would be to put the entire site behind a portal, and then they wont get indexed by google and will lose advertising revenue
Yeah I agree. and the trick works. All you really have to do is clear your cookies and voila, you're back.
Should have remained FREE, now thats a bargain!
The SMH website is having a paid wall garden after 30 accesses to the site.
clear your cookies for smh, reload page, continue reading
The best package is $1 for full web access, full iPad/tablet app access, and home delivery of the paper for $1, which is about 3 cents per day! Bargain!
not really. free is the norm. paying for news isn't a bargain
You're paying for a LOT more than news. Investigative journalism, reviews, comments, etc etc
Im starting to wonder if any of it is worth reading. To be honest im glad they are making more stuff paid. It will finally push me to read better news on the abc.
Yeah right….most of their stuff is just brought over from Reuteurs….it's a junk publication
Think you've mistaken Playboy with the SMH.
Rubbish. A lot of the articles, eg. "Property set to rise 1000% better buy now, says real estate body" are clearly paid for already. No reason at all to pay for that drivel.
I'd pay… if i were to get quality news.
The SMH is a maybe in this field, the Daily Telegraph is a definite no.
Actually… i'll just look at abc.net.au/news and save myself a bit more.
SMH used to, sadly not anymore
SMH is like reading a Liberal advert most of the time. So much absolute BS claims about NBN and Rudd etc
I also agree $1 for something that is now free is not a deal.
Although i agree with you, you obviously havent read News Ltd (dailytelegraph, news.com.au). It will make Fairfax look like a good boy. In saying that, ur better off reading the ABC or SBS as i mentioned above.
Maybe you need to read a new news source? The labour party IS falling apart, whether you are supporter or not.
Doubt many care what's happening in UK politics, let alone your view of it.
@punkboy. So you call this worth news/opinion then?
http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-opinion/alb…
Good example, strangely enough there is also this version http://m.smh.com.au/federal-politics/albo-the-acting-prime-m…
that says its a "sketch" so I assume its just a would be joke made out to look like news.
If only everyone had paid to use Google Reader…
I read the SMH daily. It mixes crap with good stuff. But at the end of the day they still do a fair bit of quality journalism. Online abc news doesn't engage me so I would hate for ABC and News Ltd to be the only big players in town. Instead of deleting my cookies, I'm going to play my small part and pay for SMH news.
The ratio of good to crap is only going to get worse if no one picks up the tab for what's left of the investigative side, which sadly doesn't get as many clicks as the fluff. Jonathan Holmes' plea in his final Media Watch was for people to pay for at least one media website capable of producing real journalism.
Sorry I couldn't disagree more with poor Jonno. More and more people don't have time or want to read long winded stories that are either somebody's opinion, cash for comment, obvious filler pieces, or a retelling of what happened on Reddit last week. Journalists have had their time (as have their photographers). The news summaries in a swipe down of your smart phone/watch/toothbrush have become good enough. Plus the opportunity to discuss with their friends and frenimies is just a scroll/app away. Who here spends more time reading comments than their leading stories? I see your reading this, and dying to give me your 2 cents…
Ever heard of investigative journalism? Absolutely critical to a strong democracy even if the majority of self-centred gen Ys haven't yet discovered it. Give them time and wisdom, every generation eventually gets there…..
"having a paid wall garden"
The way you put it makes it sound rather nice.
Something to note for those who take up the home delivery option - it doesn't always mean to your door. I've just cancelled my recent new home delivery sub to smh as they just threw them on the footpath in the street and strangers were taking them; despite a number of calls and emails to fairfax trying to sort this out — I live in a block of units. Obviously you wouldnt be too fussed for $1 but if you were considering a long term sub it might be of interest to you.
Also, yesterday I hit the SMH pay wall on my ipad and I was blocked from opening an article, though I was able to read articles on my ipad this morning.
When I was a teen we delivered the morning papers from the back of a ute, but I daresay that would now be frowned upon. Within reason, if we could get the ute close enough you would have got your paper delivered to the door (of your balcony).
But when in full flight down a main road, there's something majestic about a well aimed SMH arriving at it's target … I mean destination. It's just that some people would place their letterboxes in the most awkward of places!
Irony about media laws to avoid limiting choice. With paywalls I end up limiting my news source… Full subscription in NSW, The Australian is the cheapest at $3 a month, followed by the Tele. SMH is most expensive. But they all seem to offer other content like lifestyle type articles and Fox Sports with the Tele.
I can't believe no one has mentioned http://www.guardian.co.uk/australia
Yes, the Guardian is a UK news outlet but they do more thorough reporting and news articles on Australian matters than SMH do. And it's actually not biased towards the Libs.
Yes, I've been frequently amazed at just how in-depth The Guardian is on local Sydney news. Often much better than any local news outlet. I will sign up for paid SMH, best out of a crap lot.
FYI - some of these paywalls are poorly implemented.
eg. open this AdelaideNow article normally… paywall.
Now open it again in an 'incognito' (Chrome) or 'Private Window' (FireFox)… article :-)