Free web page access offered to all subscribers
 
     Nationwide, newspapers have been struggling with how to make online editions economically viable.
 
     Advertisers, convinced of the power of print, have been reluctant to place ads in a less-effective electronic medium. Readers, particularly distant ones with poor mail service, have gone online to get timely news. But rather than pay for the service, many have let their print subscriptions lapse.
 
     The result has been economically crippling: Not only do online editions not recover their costs. They often reduce revenue for print editions of newspapers.
 
     As a result, a growing number of newspapers like the Marion County Record, Hillsboro Star-Journal and Peabody Gazette-Herald have begun instituting policies that will allow them to continue providing news online. The alternative would be to pull the plug on what have become highly popular yet highly costly Internet operations.
 
     We realize it is important for some people to be able to get news online for free. Distant relatives may wish to view an occasional story like a birth announcement or a death notice. Likewise, business people interested in locating in the community or newcomers just arrived in the community need free access to online editions to help them "sample" the newspaper's fare.
 
     And, of course, anyone who subscribes to the newspaper should be able to access its online site anytime for free, particularly given the problems the U.S. Postal Service has with delivering papers in a timely manner.
 
     Effective Jan. 1, everyone will be allowed to visit each of our newspaper sites up to three times without paying. After the fourth visit, however, full access will be free only to paid subscribers of the print edition of that paper, to local residents in military or religious service and to those with visual impairments that make online reading the only viable means by which they can keep up with the news.
 
     A special PIN number printed on each subscriber's mailing label (or provided free to those qualifying for the service) will be necessary after any reader's third visit.
 
     Those regularly using our online sites without subscribing will be expected to subscribe. Continued online access with be a free "perk" to regular print subscribers. However, it no longer will be a cheap way for those with computers to get for free what others pay to receive.
 
     Register online when the special registration screen appears. You’ll only need to register once. And you’ll be pleased by the expanded coverage of our online edition. A special help screen will appear when you register and give you a chance to subscribe if you do not. Simply follow its instructions once, and the registration will be remembered by your computer.
 
     Registration uses browser "cookies" and other tracking procedures. These are used only for tracking purposes. No other commercial use is made of any information gathered.