The way forward for CSMonitor.com

After years of tumult in the journalism industry, we feel the way forward is increasingly clear: Produce journalism worthy of reader support and ask readers to support it.

To that end, here’s the news: Readers without a subscription to our digital Monitor Daily edition will be limited to five free articles on CSMonitor.com per month beginning May 8.

On the sixth visit, those who don’t subscribe to the Monitor Daily will be asked to subscribe. For those who don’t subscribe to the Monitor Daily, all content on CSMonitor.com from the sixth visit on will be inaccessible until the following month. (A Monitor Daily subscription includes the five-days-per-week email and unlimited access to CSMonitor.com, among other benefits.)

Why is a digital subscription worth it? In addition to unlimited access to all our journalism on CSMonitor.com, digital subscribers will have a clean and clear reading experience – advertising-free and completely redesigned to let them focus on the Monitor’s journalism.

Digital subscribers receive the Monitor Daily email, a collection of our best work hosted by our veteran editors and reporters. It arrives in the evenings, Eastern time, Monday through Friday. Our current subscribers are voracious Daily readers and we think you’ll love our premier offering, too.

For current digital subscribers to the Monitor Daily, you’ll be getting more at the same price. In addition to your access to the Daily email, you will also get unlimited access to a redesigned CSMonitor.com, which will be completely ad-free. In May, you’ll find we have reshaped the reading experience on CSMonitor.com to reflect the clear, calm sensibility of the Daily.

How does this affect Weekly subscribers? If you want to read more than five stories a month on CSMonitor.com, you will need to get a digital subscription. Print subscribers are eligible for a special rate almost 40 percent below the standard price. (You can get that rate here.)

Why doesn’t your Weekly subscription give you full access to CSMonitor.com? A magazine subscription covers the cost of the print production and the time of our staff to create the magazine, specifically – but not the full cost of all the journalism we produce, all of which appears on our website.

We recognize that many Weekly readers probably consider CSMonitor.com a part of their subscription to the Monitor. However, the support structure for CSMonitor.com was digital advertising, a business that is declining for the Monitor and many other news organizations. In taking this step toward limiting access to CSMonitor.com, we are moving toward a direct relationship between the Monitor and readers who care about the quality of the news they read online – and who are willing to be a part of the effort to help that journalism thrive.

The Monitor’s email newsletters will continue. However, beginning May 8, newsletter readers without a Monitor Daily subscription will be limited to five free articles on CSMonitor.com per month.

Why are we doing this?

This effort is consistent with our renewed commitment to invest in journalism that aims for the highest standard of the Monitor’s mission. It puts us on a better path to securing the long-term success of the Monitor by placing it on a firmer economic footing.

The launch of the Monitor Daily last year and the launch of this “paywall” are consistent with the demand that the Monitor stay “abreast of the times.”

And what times they are. Today, we feel the Monitor’s focus on the values and deeper perspectives behind the news is needed as much as ever. In a time of heightened division and difference, the Monitor’s steady focus on progress, hope, and the issues that really matter is a mission worthy of your support.

As always, we stand ready to answer your questions, hear your thoughts, and respond to your comments. Email us at editor@csmonitor.com with any feedback you have.