To the Editor:
Re “A Letter to Our Readers,” by Arthur Ochs Sulzberger Jr., the publisher of The Times (March 18):
While of course a newspaper must make a profit, The Times should consider what an important role it plays today in the dissemination of information about the world.
As an accurate and impartial journal of important news, it has come to play a key role in the very preservation of democracy around the world. The online version of The Times should remain completely free.
Thomas Marshalek
Bloomington, Ind., March 18, 2011
To the Editor:
While I knew some kind of subscription plan was coming, paying $15 for a four-week subscription is just too much for this senior citizen.
It’s a sad but necessary decision I’ll be making—parting ways with the newspaper I began reading in high school during the early 1950s.
Barbara Bellantonio
East Meadow, N.Y., March 18, 2011
To the Editor:
I have wondered for some time why you did not do something like this. The Times is an invaluable part of our American culture, and we need to start putting our money where our mouths are. So here’s my vote of confidence. I think $15 a month is a bargain, and come March 28 you’ll get my subscription.
Henry Seale
Albuquerque, March 18, 2011
To the Editor:
As a young adult in graduate school, I frequent The Times’s Web site every morning as an essential part of my morning routine. Many of my classmates and friends share this love for The Times.
However, as part of a generation that grew up online and thrives in a world of never-ending choices, we can, and will, move to a free option.
Although it seems reasonable to charge for news online, you will lose the vast majority of young adults. You may retain established professionals and retirees, but who will be your next generation of readership?
Erin Taylor
New York, March 18, 2011
Keith Burgess-Jackson, J.D., Ph.D. 