Irony: NY Times Runs Article on How Reading Magazines Without Purchase Could Be Considered “Stealing” (Opinion)

In the latest from the “why am I not surprised” department, the New York Times has published an article discussing the ethical implications of people browsing through magazines without paying for them, and if this could be considered stealing. Considering the fact that I can’t read the article because the Times has locked it away behind a paywall, I couldn’t help but laugh at the irony.

When I started publishing news content on Radio Free Hub City, one of the guiding principles which I set out to maintain was that I would absolutely refuse to publish any news content behind a paywall, and keep it ad and reader donation subscription supported. We’re certainly not going to get rich this way, but I’m happy to say that we have been at least breaking even on expenses, while we continue to grow.

For many years I’ve been an advocate of better news, and better news media practices. I absolutely despise paywalls, because they often block people from critical information they need the most. Imagine if we locked away all of our articles on local election candidates? We take pride in our in-depth coverage of candidates who reach out to us, and feel it’s a valuable service to the community. I could never in good conscience ever put that kind of stuff behind a paywall, and limit our usage of paywalls only to bonus material, such as our resources for small business.

Epic Presence has a fantastic article on why paywalls are not only ineffective, but can even be harmful to the flow of news information. And while news publishers will argue that they have to implement paywalls to pay their journalists, the Maryland Free Press would disagree. In order to ensure access to critical information about elections, they not only cut their subscription price to 25 cents, but even offered to provide copies at no charge to anyone who couldn’t afford it.

The great republic of the United States was built upon freedom. And locking away news behind a paywall just doesn’t feel right to me.

So to answer the NY Times question, no, reading a magazine without paying for it is not theft. If you want an alternative to reading in a coffee shop or bookstore where you might feel pressured by an employee to cut your reading short, I highly recommend your local library, which will absolutely encourage you to read magazines at no cost.

And if you enjoy RFHC, please consider subscribing or buying us a pizza. We’ll never lock our news away behind a paywall, but supporting us helps compensate us for the time we spend covering local issues, as well as pay for the overhead expenses associated with running our site and internet radio station.

Opinion article by Ken Buckler. All opinions are his own, and do not reflect those of RFHC clients or advertisers.