Maybe there's never a "good" time to put up a pay wall, but it seems pretty dumb or naive to try to do it now, while so many people are still eliminating recurring expenses and generally trying to save money.  If money is tight, switching to a free alternative when one of the sites you hit online puts up a pay wall seems like a no-brainer.<p>Reminds me of "the penny gap" (see <a href="http://redeye.firstround.com/2007/03/the_first_penny.html" rel="nofollow">http://redeye.firstround.com/2007/03/the_first_penny.html</a>).  This is especially true with discretionary items and items that have many competitors and substitutes, especially free ones.  That's the situation with newspapers.  Sure, some might say each newspaper and writer is unique, which is true, but...<p>...maybe people aren't looking for <i>"the best"</i> newspaper or writer or web app, maybe they're looking for <i>"the best free"</i> newspaper, writer, or web app.  NOTE: "Free" in this case means "ad supported," or at least "no subscription required."