Philadelphia Inquirer will launch a paid-content model for Web

5/31/09 – 10:38 a.m.: Updated.

The Philadelphia Inquirer will launch a paid-content model on its Web site before the end of the year, according to a commemorative online package that will appear Sunday.

Philadelphia’s paper of record will debut the special multimedia presentation on Philly.com to commemorate its 180th anniversary, which Technically Philly was given a preview of today.

See our sneak peek at the project here.

The presentation includes a news story attributing the mention of paid content to Brian Tierney, Philadelphia Media Holdings Publisher and Chief Executive. Further details about the plans were not provided.

Inquirer Executive Online Editor Chris Krewson could not confirm the time line or the decision, but said that Tierney has spoken publicly about the possibility.

“In the past three months it’s been pretty clear from Brian’s statements that there will be a move to paid content on the Internet,” Krewson said in a telephone interview with Technically Philly.

“It would not surprise me at all to see us do something with paid content by the end of the year.”
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Friday Tech Links: City election day results online, Skorpion Show redo and More

Technically Philly friends The Skorpion Show get love from the Daily News. Photo by DAVID MAIALETTI for the Daily News.

In which we link out to the tech news from Philly and elsewhere (when it matters) that slips through the cracks and make it way fun. See others here.

• OK, first the Daily News reports this morning that the city would not continue its freshly rolled out policy of allowing access to online election-day voting results. By noon, KYW reported that Michael Nutter was sufficiently embarrassed by Philadelphia’s primitive take on Web access that the money was found to keep it going — something about $30,000 for hosting. Hell, we’ll do it for $300 and hot pretzels.

Brian Tierney talks about the Web, libraries get faster online and five other tech stories you should read — including our most trafficked post of the week.

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