Miami Herald asks online readers to consider making ‘voluntary payment’ for content

Miami Herald asks online readers for donations

MIAMI — The Miami Herald is asking readers of its Web site to voluntarily pay for the privilege, a new wrinkle in newspapers’ ongoing battle to increase revenue from their online operations.

A link posted Tuesday at the bottom of online stories directs readers to a separate page that accepts credit card information. The page asks readers to consider a “voluntary payment” for the content on the Herald’s site.

The McClatchy Co. newspaper has cut hundreds of employees in recent years as the weekday circulation of its print edition has fallen by almost 25 percent in the last year and 14 percent on Sundays.

But the paper says 5 million different readers visit its Web site each month.