photo by: Lawrence Journal-World

Beginning today, the Journal-World will offer paid subscriptions to its news website, LJWorld.com.

Subscribers to the print edition of the Journal-World will get access to the website at no additional charge. Those without a subscription may purchase one at LJWorld.com/subscribe. Digital-only subscriptions are available for $9.95 per month with a special promotional offer of 99 cents for the first month.

Those who do not subscribe will be able to view only a limited number of LJWorld.com articles each month.

For nearly 25 years, the Journal-World has provided free, unlimited access to LJWorld.com. But changes in readership and online advertising require the newspaper to take a different approach, said Journal-World Publisher Scott Stanford. The number of unique users of LJWorld.com is about three times the newspaper’s print distribution, Stanford said.

“The Journal-World maintains the largest news-gathering team in Douglas County and produces more news and information about Lawrence than anyone,” he said. “Local reporting is important and valuable to the community, and we trust that our online readers will pay a small subscription price for credible local news, just as print readers of the Journal-World have for more than a century.”

Readers will always have free access to the LJWorld.com homepage. And nonsubscribers will be able to read a limited number of stories on the website each month before access is restricted, Stanford said.

Also, the Journal-World and the Lawrence Public Library have partnered to offer unlimited access to LJWorld.com for all library patrons who are on the library’s Wi-Fi.

Additionally, Stanford said digital subscribers would not be required to answer Google Survey questions to access news articles.

LJWorld.com/subscribe

Other details of the subscription program include:

• Every print subscriber to the Journal-World will receive an all-access digital subscription for no additional charge. Print subscribers can activate their digital accounts at this link or by calling 843-1000. An email address is required to access an account.

• A digital-only subscription is $9.95 per month and provides unlimited access to LJWorld.com. Digital-only subscribers who live in the distribution area can choose to have the Sunday Journal-World delivered to their homes at no additional charge.

• Subscribers will be able to use their digital subscription to access LJWorld.com from multiple devices, including smartphones, tablets, desktop computers and other devices. Access to the LJWorld app also is included with a digital subscription.

• Users will not be required to have a subscription to access obituaries on LJWorld.com.

• Content on KUsports.com will continue to be offered free of charge. Subscriptions will not be required.

Stanford said that more than a year of work went into developing the plan to charge for online content.

“We did not make this change lightly,” Stanford said. “Only after careful analysis that included multiple surveys of LJWorld.com readers and studies of other newspapers’ successes and failures did we decide that this is the best path forward.”

Users with questions about subscriptions and access to the website should call 785-843-1000 or email subs@ljworld.com.