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media metamorphoses

Turns Out, Journalism Online’s Pay Wall Is Simple to Break Through

Remember when media entrepreneur Steve Brill was going to save journalism with his new commercial pay-wall service, which was eventually backed by News Corp.? Well, the service, Press+, has a few simple loopholes that render it completely penetrable, according to MinnPost.com. Press+ brass is aware of the problem, and isn't worried. "The fact that a small percentage of people may try to circumvent a modest charge for it and succeed in doing so for a short period of time must be seen in light of the fact that most won’t," the company said in a statement. "Put simply, you wouldn’t continue to make all books in a bookstore free simply because there may be some shoplifters temporarily able to swipe a few of them." Don't think about that metaphor too hard. Just go with it.

Journalism Online's Press+ paywall: easy to defeat [MinnPost]

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