They're back: the voices of The New York Times return

An important moment in online comment and for readers of this blog - The New York Times has ended its Times Select subscription service and is opening up all its comment for free.

The paper says that it believes it can make more money from advertising than subscriptions. American Express is the first sponsor to climb onboard.

Why is this important to Comment Central readers?

First because it opens up again a range of very impressive columnists to non-paying readers, columnists like Maureen Dowd, Thomas Friedman, Frank Rich, Paul Krugman, David Brooks and  Nicholas Kristof.

I'll be linking to articles you shouldn't miss on the Daily Fix. Or you can go straight to the source by clicking here.

The second reason it is important is that it settles a debate about the future of comment journalism. If the NYT concludes it's right to go free with comment then it suggests that free access backed by advertising is the way things will be going.