Marco Arment on magazines that charge for digital versions and have ads:
It’s no wonder ad-free traditional-style magazines are so difficult to fund. But that doesn’t change my dissatisfaction with flipping past ads every few pages as I’m trying to read the articles I paid $4.99 for.
The more I think about, the more I like the suggestion from Shadoe Huard that magazines should make sections available for purchase. Like Marco, I often skip through sections of magazines, but I may buy sports or music if given the opportunity.
I don’t think this would be practical. If you only bought specific sections, how would the magazine be able to off-set overhead expenses?
As much as I can emphasise what Marco is saying, I think he has a too simplistic view of what it costs to produce a magazine or newspaper.