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CNN launches a digital paywall, charging some users to read articles

CNN, one of the most popular news websites in the world, is starting to ask some of its visitors to pay $3.99 a month for access.

“Starting today, we are asking users in the United States to pay a small recurring fee for unlimited access to CNN.com’s world-class articles,” Alex MacCallum, CNN’s executive vice president of digital products and services, wrote in an internal memo outlining the plan. “In addition to unlimited access to CNN.com’s articles, subscribers will receive benefits like exclusive election features, original documentaries, a curated daily selection of our most distinctive journalism, and fewer digital ads.” MacCallum and her boss Mark Thompson, the chairman and chief executive of CNN, are both veterans of The New York Times, which is widely envied in the news business for its success in converting online readers and gamers into paying subscribers.

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