To many in the media biz, newspapers' free online provision of their content is the original sin that has hastened the meltdown of the dead-tree product. Another school of thought holds that with the free-info ethos of the Internet, there's just no putting that genie back in the bottle.

Here in Rhode Island, in an experiment that bears watching, the Newport Daily News plans to restrict its online content to subscribers. They will also be able to choose a costlier online-only subscription:

NEWPORT — Readers of The Newport Daily News now can access the entire paper online.

The electronic version of the paper is available through the Web site, by clicking on the image of the front page of The Daily News on the home page or any one of the various links to the electronic version. Readers will be able to see the actual pages of the day’s paper and click on individual stories and advertisements, which will appear on the right-hand side of the screen for easy viewing.

The electronic version of the paper will be available mid-afternoon on weekdays, when The Daily News is an afternoon paper, and early Saturday mornings, when The Daily News publishes its Weekend edition.

After a free trial period, the online paper will be available only to subscribers.

Readers will be able to see the actual pages of each day's paper - updated each weekday afternoon and Saturday morning - and view individual stories, photos and advertisements by clicking on them, which will bring them up on the right-hand side of the screen in an easy-to-read format. Links to e-mails and Web sites contained in stories and advertisements can be accessed directly through the electronic version. ....

“It’s pretty exciting to be ahead of the curve on this,” said Assistant Publisher William F. Lucey III. “Our goal is to give our subscribers more of the product they look for every day and our advertisers more exposure, while offering new readers even more of a reason to pick us up.”

For nearly a decade, the paper has offered some of its editorial content on its Web site, free of charge. The site included a selection of top news and sports stories. Popular reader items such as police and fire reports, letters to the editor, school honor rolls and other news about local residents found in the weekly Community section were omitted.

“One of the biggest complaints I’ve heard about the Web site over the years is we don’t put all our content online,” Executive Editor Sheila Mullowney said. The new format “answers those concerns,” she said.

However, Daily News officials point out that the “give-it-away-for-free” model has not worked for the nation’s newspapers. In fact, offering free content online has been a contributing factor in the declining circulation of the printed newspaper, which, combined with rising expenses and the recession, has resulted in layoffs and other cost-saving measures, they said. ...

In addition to the full content of each day’s paper, the online subscription also will offer several new features, including “e-Notify,” which will allow subscribers to be notified via e-mail anytime items with keywords they’ve identified appear in the paper, and a “Marketplace,” which will list all the advertisers in an issue. After selecting an ad that contains a Web site address, readers can click on a link directly to the advertiser’s Web site.

After the free trial period ends, there will be three options to subscribe to The Daily News: home delivery, combined home delivery and full online access, or online access only. Those who pay for an online subscription will be able to access the electronic version of the paper from as many as three computers, or IP addresses. ....

For those who prefer the online-only option, the cost will be $5 for a day, $10 for a week, $35 for a month, $100 for three months, $180 for six months and $345 for a year.