The Intelligencer Journal-Lancaster New Era intends to start using Journalism Online's payment system in the next few months, reported the New York Times. The software system will be called Press+ and GlobalPost and the Fayetteville Observer are also interested, said the NYT.

Journalism Online has also sent a memo to its affiliated publishers (reproduced by paidContent) in which it informs them that the company is "just weeks away" from having the technology ready for use, and that multiple publishers are currently integrating the software.

Journalism Online was founded in April last year as a start-up venture aiming to facilitate newspapers' efforts to charge online. Founders Steve Brill, Gordon Crovitz and Leo Hindery aim to create a payment system that could be used by many different newspapers and provide many different ways to charge. JO will take a 20% cut of revenue.

Ernest J. Schreiber, editor of the Lancaster paper's website, LancasterOnline.com, told the NYT that the site has been using and adapting the Press+ software for a while and that the payment plan would go into effect in a month or two.

"We're starting small, so if this really turns people off, we're not playing with a huge chunk of our readership," Schreiber told the Times, reflecting a commonly-held fear among publishers of scaring away readers and losing advertising revenue.

This small start will only involve charging readers outside the local area and only for reading obituaries, as these are unique to the paper, Schreiber said, adding that local sports might be the next area targeted.

A green "Press+" logo will appear next to each obituary headline, and after reading a certain amount of such articles, a user will be prompted to pay a flat fee to continue. Staci D Kramer of paidContent has obtained some "exclusive screen shots" of the subscription process.

Most of the publishers who are already integrating the software are using "some version of the metered model" the JO memo reads, "though all are deploying their own variations." Examples are given: "one is combining the metered approach with the segmenting option; another is combining the out-of-market targeting with the meter; and a non-profit affiliate will combine the meter with a support campaign."

GlobalPost's chief executive and president Philip Balboni told the NYT that the year-old international news site intends to use Press+ to urge users to become paid members of the site. The paper already offers a membership scheme, Passport, at $99 per year (with discounts available) that allows members to interact with journalists, request stories and receive newsletters. Now, there will be levels of membership with different prices, Balboni told the Times, and the offer will also include premium content. He expects to implement the system by the end of March.

Will Journalism Online's payment system help to make paid online content the norm among English-language newspapers? Providing publishers with a ready-made system that requires little of their own development does make sense, particularly for those who are less committed to charging online, but want to experiment. Other publishers such as the New York Times Co and News Corp are going forward with their own payment schemes, which might inspire smaller outfits that charging online is a direction in which they should be going.

Source: New York Times, paidContent (1), (2)