I've seen a few other publishers do this too, and it seems hopelessly perverse. If the digital edition has zero advertisements, then I can understand that it reflects the true cost of production (qua newsgathering, writing and editing).
But it's still going to create a perception among the public that the online readers are subsidizing the print readers to a certain extent, and indirectly the printing and paper companies as well. And for those who care about such things, the ongoing consumption of about 100,000 (farmed) trees annually. If online readers get a better deal by subscribing to the paper version and putting it straight into the recycling bin every day, then the NYT is encouraging them to consume in the most wasteful way possible. This also reduces the value to advertisers, who are going to start discounting the subscription figures proportionally to 1/(web_traffic_growth/online_subs_growth).
This isn't helped the options of NYT + smartphone edition, NYT + tablet edition, and NYT + everything edition (crossword puzzles and other NYT products excluded). Where is the NYT + no frills edition? I do read news on my phone, but I prefer a bare minimum summary of important events in that context. But apparently I must purchase a mobile app I don't want and would never use in order to have subscriber access via the browser.
But it's still going to create a perception among the public that the online readers are subsidizing the print readers to a certain extent, and indirectly the printing and paper companies as well. And for those who care about such things, the ongoing consumption of about 100,000 (farmed) trees annually. If online readers get a better deal by subscribing to the paper version and putting it straight into the recycling bin every day, then the NYT is encouraging them to consume in the most wasteful way possible. This also reduces the value to advertisers, who are going to start discounting the subscription figures proportionally to 1/(web_traffic_growth/online_subs_growth).
This isn't helped the options of NYT + smartphone edition, NYT + tablet edition, and NYT + everything edition (crossword puzzles and other NYT products excluded). Where is the NYT + no frills edition? I do read news on my phone, but I prefer a bare minimum summary of important events in that context. But apparently I must purchase a mobile app I don't want and would never use in order to have subscriber access via the browser.