The New York Times Is Getting a Cheaper Paywall Because It Has To

The business drama behind the New York Times paywall is, at its core, this: can the news organization find new subscription revenue faster than it loses advertising revenue? And, while it has pioneered the paywall, signing up?676,000 subscribers through the end of the fourth quarter, the announcement that it will offer new, cheaper tiers shows that is not enough paying customers. As its most recent earnings report?show, while advertising revenues fell?11.2 percent in the first quarter while circulation revenues, including digital subscriptions, rose only 7 percent?not fast enough to keep up with the changing business model.

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The problem, as this chart from Zach Seward a Quartz shows, seems to be that?The Times may have signed up most of the people willing to pay at least $180 a year (which is currently its lowest priced digital subscriptiob) for the Times journalism they read.?

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That means that while digital subscriptions continues to grow, it's not on track to grow explosively from its current level around 700,000 (which, incidentally, is not too much lower than the 1 million-ish print circulation The Times had?before the big, bad Internet changed everything).

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The solution to the problem is to expand the universe of potential subscribers, and the new lower-priced tiers in the paywalls are an attempt to do just that. The paper hasn't given exact pricing details, but in its "New Strategy for Growth" note it touted adding a "lower-priced paid product" that will offer a selection of the "most important and interesting stories" from the Times. (So, maybe top news, but not every story the paper publishes.) They will also offer other subscriptions, "also at lower price points," which will just cover certain subjects (the press release mentions, "politics, technology, opinion, the arts and food").?

RELATED: Post-Pay Wall, New York Times Sees a Dip In Traffic

The Times is also creating subscriptions that cost more than its current offerings ("an enhanced tier") but those are more about getting some subset of the current 676,000 to pay more rather than expanding subscribers overall, so that's not where the big growth opportunity lies.?The Times will also maintain its free offering of a metered access to set number of stories a month ? currently set at ten ? according to a spokesperson.?

After two years of easing people into a paywall, The?Times has slowly normalized the idea of paying for news. And even outside the Times, digital readers who seek out quality reporting and writing as other outlets look to mimic the success of?The Times and The?Wall Street Journal. The Washington Post recently announced it would experiment with a paid model, and The New Yorker, which charges for none of its digital content right now, recently emailed out a survey asking readers how they felt about different digital models, both metered and not. So while there is little question that the future of news won't be free, the bigger question is just how many paying readers are out there.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/york-times-getting-cheaper-paywall-because-143212639--finance.html

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Tax-free Internet shopping in jeopardy

FILE - In this Oct. 18, 2010 file photo, an Amazon.com package is prepared for shipment by a United Parcel Service (UPS) driver in Palo Alto, Calif. States could force Internet retailers to collect sales taxes under a bill that overwhelmingly passed a test vote in the Senate Monday, April 22, 2013. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma, File)

FILE - In this Oct. 18, 2010 file photo, an Amazon.com package is prepared for shipment by a United Parcel Service (UPS) driver in Palo Alto, Calif. States could force Internet retailers to collect sales taxes under a bill that overwhelmingly passed a test vote in the Senate Monday, April 22, 2013. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Internet shoppers are moving closer to paying sales taxes for their online purchases. But the fight is far from over.

The Senate voted 63-30 Thursday to advance a bill that would impose state and local sales taxes on purchases made over the Internet. An agreement among senators delayed the Senate's final vote on passage until May 6, when senators return from a weeklong vacation.

Opponents hope senators hear from angry constituents over the next week, but they acknowledged they have a steep hill to climb to defeat the bill in the Senate.

Their best hope for stopping the bill may be in the House, where some Republicans consider it a tax increase. President Barack Obama supports the bill.

The bill would empower states to reach outside their borders and compel online retailers to collect state and local sales taxes for purchases made over the Internet. Under the bill, the sales taxes would be sent to the states where a shopper lives.

Under current law, states can only require stores to collect sales taxes if the store has a physical presence in the state. As a result, many online sales are essentially tax-free, giving Internet retailers an advantage over brick-and-mortar stores.

"We look forward to passing this landmark bill in 11 days and call on the House to stand up for America's Main Street businesses with us," Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said shortly after Thursday's vote.

Senate Democratic leaders wanted to finish work on the bill this week, before leaving town for the recess. But they were blocked by a handful of senators from states without sales taxes.

Oregon, Montana, New Hampshire and Delaware have no sales taxes, though the two senators from Delaware support the bill.

"I think it's going to be interesting for senators to get a response from constituents over this upcoming week," said Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore. "I'm not sure that the country knows that something like this coerces businesses all around America to collect other people's sales taxes."

The bill pits brick-and-mortar stores like Wal-Mart against online services such as eBay. The National Retail Federation supports it. And Amazon.com, which initially fought efforts in some states to make it collect sales taxes, supports it, too.

Retailers who have lobbied in favor of the bill celebrated Thursday's vote.

"The special treatment of big online businesses at the expense of retailers on Main Street will soon be a thing of the past," said Bill Hughes of the Retail Industry Leaders Association. "The overwhelmingly bipartisan support for leveling the playing field is rare in today's political environment and paves the way for a level playing field once and for all."

Supporters say the bill is about fairness for local businesses that already collect sales taxes, and lost revenue for states. Opponents say the bill would impose complicated regulations on retailers and doesn't have enough protections for small businesses. Businesses with less than $1 million a year in online sales would be exempt.

Many of the nation's governors ? Republicans and Democrats ? have been lobbying the federal government for years for the authority to collect sales taxes from online sales.

The issue is getting bigger for states as more people make purchases online. Last year, Internet sales in the U.S. totaled $226 billion, up nearly 16 percent from the previous year, according to Commerce Department estimates.

The National Conference of State Legislatures estimates that states lost $23 billion last year because they couldn't collect taxes on out-of-state sales.

Anti-tax groups have labeled the bill a tax increase. But it gets support from many Republicans who have pledged not to increase taxes. The bill's main sponsor is Sen. Mike Enzi, a conservative Republican from Wyoming. He has worked closely with Durbin, a liberal Democrat.

Enzi and Durbin say the bill doesn't raise taxes. Instead, they say, it gives states a mechanism to enforce current taxes.

In many states, shoppers are required to pay unpaid sales taxes when they file state tax returns. But governors complain that few people comply.

Under the bill, states that want to collect online sales taxes must provide free computer software to help retailers calculate the taxes, based on where shoppers live. States must also establish a single entity to receive Internet sales tax revenue, so retailers don't have to send them to individual counties or cities.

___

Follow Stephen Ohlemacher on Twitter: http://twitter.com/stephenatap

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2013-04-26-Internet%20Sales%20Tax/id-943aa4aeec8041ea98b7065a13d6bba7

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Obama, ex-presidents gather to dedicate George W. Bush Library (Washington Post)

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Official: Cyber vulnerabilities found in Navy's newest warship

By Andrea Shalal-Esa

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The computer network on the U.S. Navy's newest class of coastal warships showed vulnerabilities in Navy cybersecurity tests, but the issues were not severe enough to prevent an eight-month deployment to Singapore, a Navy official said on Tuesday.

A Navy team of computer hacking experts found some deficiencies when assigned to try to penetrate the network of the USS Freedom, the lead vessel in the $37 billion Littoral Combat Ship program, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The Freedom arrived in Singapore last week for an eight-month stay, which its builder, Lockheed Martin Corp., hopes will stimulate Asian demand for the fast, agile and stealthy ships.

"We do these types of inspections across the fleet to find individual vulnerabilities, as well as fleet-wide trends," said the official.

Cybersecurity is a major priority for the Navy, which relies heavily on communications and satellite networks for its weapons systems and situational awareness.

Defense Department spokeswoman Jennifer Elzea said the Pentagon's chief weapons test agency addressed "information assurance vulnerabilities" for the Littoral Combat Ship in an assessment provided to the Navy.

"The details of that assessment are classified," Elzea said.

Lockheed spokesman Keith Little said the company was working with the Navy to ensure that USS Freedom's networks were secure during the deployment.

The Navy plans to buy 52 of the new LCS warships in coming years, including some of Lockheed's steel monohull design and some of an aluminum-hulled LCS trimaran design built by Australia's Austal. The ships are designed for combat and other missions in shallower waters close to shore.

Freedom's first operational deployment was in the Caribbean Sea in 2010, where the ship participated in four drug transport busts and captured a total of five tons of cocaine.

(Reporting by Andrea Shalal-Esa; Additional reporting by David Lawder; Editing by Eric Beech and Stephen Coates)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/cyber-vulnerabilities-found-u-navys-newest-warship-official-014139114--sector.html

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Stephen King gives to Maine gun control coalition

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) ? Stephen King and his wife have made a donation to a Maine group advocating for stricter gun control laws.

King says the gift was "five figures" but doesn't want to say more about it because "charity's supposed to be a private thing."

The Coalition for a Safer Maine says King is a gun owner and a defender of the Second Amendment who supports expanded background checks on gun sales and a ban on the sale of high-capacity ammunition magazines. It says the "substantial contribution" from the "Salem's Lot" author and fellow author Tabitha King will help fund its advocacy efforts.

The Maine Legislature this week is considering several gun control bills.

After the deadly Newtown, Conn., elementary school shooting in December, Stephen King wrote a best-selling e-book called "Guns," discussing his thoughts on gun control and gun rights.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2013-04-23-US-Stephen-King-Guns/id-aaf757c9d6fb4f02805803fd0effa917

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High-nutrition and disease-resistant purple and yellow-fleshed potato clones obtained

Apr. 24, 2013 ? The Basque Institute for Agricultural Research and Development, Neiker-Tecnalia, has created four new potato clones which are characterised by their high antioxidant content, their good production both in size and number of tubers, as well as by their resistance to the usual diseases of this crop. The clones were obtained by natural methods through crossing varieties from South America with commercial varieties used in Europe. The result was three clones of the purple-fleshed potato and one with a markedly yellow flesh. The attractiveness and nutritional value of these types of potato make them a product highly regarded by professionals in gastronomy and by the public in general.

The work of creating the clones is part of the Potato Genetic Enhancement Programme drawn up by Neiker-Tecnalia. The research was led by agricultural engineer Ms Raquel L?pez, being the basis for her PhD thesis, and was presented at the University of the Basque Country. The aim of this specialist was to find potatoes which brought together the features of the South American varieties (their colour, resistance to pathogens and their nutritional and organoleptic properties) with those of the commercial varieties employed in our latitudes and characterized by their high productivity.

The Neiker-Tecnalia researchers brought 37 varieties from the Centro Internacional de la Papa, based in Peru. These native South American varieties were crossed in the greenhouse with commercial varieties, using natural procedures. The selection of and crossing between individuals with the best traits has given rise to the four clones mentioned. For the moment, these involve advanced clones and not commercial varieties, as they are not registered at the Spanish Office for Plant Varieties (OEVV in the Spanish acronym) or the European Community Plant Variety Office (CPVO). The process of registering is a long one, lasting about 15 years.

The varieties imported from Peru have a very low productivity in our latitudes, both in size and the number of tubers. Nevertheless, with the process of crossing and selection, the final clones having acceptable productivity has been achieved.

Nutritional value and resistant to pathogens

The four clones obtained are characterised by the high presence of antioxidants compounds, making them very attractive from a nutritional perspective. The three purple-flesh clones contain a large quantity of anthocyanins ? a highly appreciated pigment in the preparation of high added value foods ?, while the yellow flesh variety have carotenes ? essential chemical components for the diet ? and in greater quantities than in the usual commercial varieties.

Resistance to diseases is another of the achievements. The four clones show certain resistance to the pathogens analysed, such as the potato virus Y, as well as the Pectobacterium atrosepticum bacteria, which weaken the vegetable and considerably undermine its production.

Researcher Raquel L?pez highlights the importance of taking into account the clones achieved. ?It is beneficial for European producers to have varieties of purple flesh potato that are adapted to the climatological conditions of this continent. Moreover, these varieties incorporate natural antioxidant compounds, which are nutritionally and visually attractive, both for restaurant professionals and for end consumers?.

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Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/~3/i5mIBlRVxmw/130424081058.htm

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Reid: Democrats to ease cuts with war savings (The Arizona Republic)

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