The O builds its paywall higher

Portland's daily (sorta) newspaper (sorta) is determined to force you to pay to read its content. For quite a while now, it's been putting local stories of interest behind a paywall. This week, I noticed that they have also started limiting the number of articles that readers get to look at for free.

They want $10 a month or $100 a year. Otherwise, you have to figure out a way around the paywall. The smarter techies will have no problem with that. But for the rest of us, it's pay up or be tantalized by the headlines on their front page.

One problem is that when you look at their headlines, there's not much there to make you to run for your credit card. "What the Coach Said After [Insert Team Name] Lost." "Dear Abby, My Mother-in-Law Chews With Her Mouth Open." "Downtown Showing Signs of Vibrancy."

But I think the biggest obstacle for potential subscribers are the memories of the O's circulation offices of the past. It was always easy to sign up for delivery, but cancelling a subscription was a real ordeal. 

It would be a shame if the O folded. But getting someone to pay to read what they're offering nowadays is a difficult sell.