'Washington Post' to Go Behind Metered Paywall This Summer

Following the success of the New York Times' metered paywall (among others), the Washington Post announced Monday that it will begin charging for full digital access to its website and mobile apps. Come summer, readers will have to buy a subscription to the 135-year-old news publication if they want to read more than 20 articles per month online.

Print subscribers will continue to get digital access at no additional cost, as will students, teachers, school administrators, government and military employees while they're at work. But those who live outside the D.C. area — and are thus ineligible for print delivery — will have to fork over a digital subscription fee. Don Graham, chairman and CEO of the Washington Post Co., says "way over" 90% of the Post's online audience is situated outside D.C. The Post's success hinges on its ability to convert a significant percentage of them into subscribers.