Free news gets scarcer as paywalls tighten

Washington

FOR those looking for free news online, the search is becoming harder. Tougher restrictions on online content have boosted digital paid subscriptions at many news organisations, amid a growing trend of keeping content behind a "paywall". Free news has by no means disappeared, but recent moves by media groups and Facebook and Google supporting paid subscriptions is forcing free-riders to scramble.

For some analysts, the trend reflects a normalisation of a situation that has existed since the early Internet days that enabled consumers to get accustomed to the notion of free online content.

"I think there is a definite trend for people to start paying for at leas…