An online news organization is considering a proposal to place most of its articles behind a paywall, allowing readers to view only a handful of free articles each month before being asked to subscribe. Proponents argue that a paywall would create a more predictable source of revenue than relying solely on advertising, that subscribers tend to read more articles per visit than non-paying readers, and that reducing dependence on advertising would let the organization run fewer intrusive ads for the readers who remain.

Based on a two-month trial in which the paywall was applied only to the organization's business section, the organization's leadership has concluded that expanding the paywall to every section would increase total subscription revenue and reader engagement, without causing a significant drop in total monthly readership.