Business

Web fee for news in UK

News Corp.’s The Times and The Sunday Times in the UK will begin charging readers to access online versions of the newspaper, following through on a vow to begin setting up a pay structure for people to access the company’s news on the Web.

Starting in June, readers will be asked to pay 1 pound ($1.48) for one-day access to The Times site, and 2 pounds for one-week access. Currently, the two papers share a single Web site, but as part of the pay-to-view plan, the two papers are in the process of launching separate Web sites. (News Corp. owns The Post.)

Rebekah Brooks, CEO of News International, the division of News Corp. that oversees the papers, called the move “a defining moment for journalism” and “a crucial step towards making the business of news an economically exciting proposition.”

Brooks said subscription models will be set up at News International’s other titles, including The Sun, Britain’s largest circulation daily, and News of the World, but she didn’t say when.

News Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch has been a vocal advocate of charging people to access online news, challenging the reluctance of other newspaper companies to seek payment for their online content.

“Far too many content companies were passive in the face of predatory behavior and self-serving sophistry,” Murdoch has said.