Well WaPo finally changed their pricing from $4 to $12/mo, so I guess I'm done with them. I guess they're hoping that less than 2/3 of people will not bother to cancel their subscription. I just did, and it was really easy. Clearly they didn't learn from NYT that you're supposed to make it impossible to quit, which is the reason I continue to read that rag.
I think regional papers often price themselves based on "what we need" rather than "what we provide." Most of them just regurgitate Reuters or AP and your fees go to sports reporters and columnists who make their 'boomer physical subscribers happy. If you wanna pay $20 a week to feel the greasy black screeds of fellow 'boomer cloud-shouters, more power to ya. Me? I got better things to do with my money.
It’s funny you mention sports, because that’s how I found every paper these days have a paywall. It was frustrating at first, until I quickly discovered a few things. If the article is any good, in a few days it’ll get republished on either Yahoo or MSN. Chances are you’re gonna come across the ideas of the article in a couple of days because people on Reddit and Twitter will be repeating ideas from said article as if it’s they thought of it themselves. This is where I warn that they often hold the idea that they did indeed think if it themselves, and therefore, will quickly and vehemently argue to the last breath with anyone who disagrees (more so on Twitter than Reddit, but to get a feel for this, look at conversations about Judge and Bonds and The Home Run Record or Judge and Ohtani and The MVP Race). If there is a sports team you like, there is at least one Podcast about them. Often there are multiple. The Pidcasts are often more informative and more interesting. Lastly, and most importantly, just watch the sport and the teams you like. The commentators and sideline reporters are more than sufficient in keeping you up to date. In short, I’m not paying to get past your pay well, your article isn’t essential, and chances are I’m gonna hear about whatever your paper has to say from other, and often better, sources.