Just a quick hit today. The New York Times today is discontinuing its "Times Select" program, whereby it charged a $50 annual subscription to read its star columnists on the Web. Even more significantly, the Times is removing the need to pay for its online archives, which go back to 1987.

The program wasn't a failure. Times Select brought in 227,000 subscribers and $10 million in revenues. But at an organization the size of the New York Times Co., $10 million is small change. And dropping Times Select validates what many have been saying for years: subscription models just don't work.

Here's the money quote: "But our projections for growth on that paid subscriber base were low, compared to the growth of online advertising," said Vivian L. Schiller, senior vice president and general manager of the site, NYTimes.com.

(There are exceptions, which I discussed in an earlier post, here. Suffice to say, Maureen Dowd didn't fit the super-specialized niche, nor the super-important niche.)

There isn't much else to say on the subject right now, other than Rupert Murdoch is increasingly likely to make the Wall Street Journal free online, and some skeptics are still saying the advertising model is risky territory when it comes to generating revenue. Yes, it's risky, I agree. But it's pretty much the only game in town. Are you listening, Spokane?