Papers literally got smaller and there was less of everything inside. The bundle continued to grow until the early years of this century, when falling advertising revenues convinced newspapers to shrink their product. Once a news organ, newspapers now resembled home entertainment centers.

In quick succession, newspapers added comics, advice, puzzles, recipes, games, and eventually columns on chess, bridge, gardening, hunting and fishing, retirement, and health. In some respects the Times is just reassembling the traditional newspaper “bundle” that dates back to the 1890s when William Randolph Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer’s New York dailies widened the range of their newspapers beyond hard news to include soft stuff. But it’s really not all that new a concept, which is probably why it’s having success. Those affiliate relationships will continue, providing a way to monetize nonsubscribers.Can games like Wordle save American journalism? In a six-letter word - surely. When a consumer follows a link on the site to purchase a product, Wirecutter receives a commission on the sale. “Up until now, Wirecutter has generated revenue primarily through affiliate partnerships with online sellers, including Inc. For instance, Wirecutter’s coverage of air purifiers will be in front of the paywall when the subscription product launches amid the wildfires in the western U.S., the spokeswoman said. “The Times will make some Wirecutter articles free periodically ‘if they provide strong public service,’ said a Times spokeswoman. Li said the site will experiment with the free-article threshold. A small percentage of users visit the site more than 50 times a month. Only a small proportion of Wirecutter’s readership currently reads more than 10 articles a month, said Linda Li, Wirecutter’s general manager. Haggin reports, “At launch, readers will get 10 free Wirecutter articles a month before being asked to pay for a subscription. The New York Times is putting its consumer product and technology site Wirecutter behind a paywall costing $40 a year, reports Patience Haggin of The Wall Street Journal.

New york times wirecutter site paywall