Those sobering statistics--bad news, certainly, for newspaper and magazine publishers intent on charging readers for online content--is from a new study that examines consumer attitudes toward online media. The report confirms what mainstream media outlets have feared for years, even if many won't admit it: Getting online readers to pay for mainstream news will be hard--really hard--and no one has a clue how to go about it.

The Pew findings don't bode well for upcoming pay wall plans by and other newspapers. The Times, for instance, announced in January that it would implement a hybrid free/fee system for its website. Beginning in January 2011, readers will be able to view a certain number of free articles each month, but they'll have to pay a flat fee for full access to the site. The Times also is developing a fee-based offering for the upcoming tablet.

An Unprofitable Success Story

The Internet has become a stellar medium for news delivery. According to Pew, six of ten Americans read some online news every day. Problem is, most news publishers can't profit from the new medium, despite 15 years of trying.

And if publishers' Internet operations are profitable, their revenues aren't enough to support the extensive (and expensive) news gathering operations that were possible under the dying, print-advertising business model.