Why The New York Times doesn’t have to sell | TIME.com
▻http://swampland.time.com/2013/08/09/last-ones-standing
The Times, on the other hand, while building a hugely popular website, has not relied on web advertising to pay the bills. The company has gone directly to its readers, for whom the paper is a sign of identity and status—a luxury good they are willing to pay for. Jacking up prices (the Sunday newspaper retails for $5 now in New York and $6 a copy elsewhere), and targeting their demographic more and more precisely, the Times has been able to dampen its dependence on advertising while making paid circulation its principal source of revenue.