The Times hopes to pioneer a new era of paid-for online news
New-look, subscription-based sites could set precedent for news organisations
The Times argues that free online news undermines the value of journalism
The Times and Sunday Times have released details of their online pay-per-view rates, and said that the redesigned sites will be launched in June.
Content will cost £1 for a day's access and £2 for a week's subscription to the two sites.
The sites will replace the existing combined site, Times Online.
The organisation's actions will be watched with interest by many newspapers and magazines considering making the same move.
“Our feeling is that it is time to stop giving away our journalism,” The Times editor James Harding told BBC Radio 4's Today programme today.
“We feel that we are undermining the value of our journalism, undermining the value of The Times and undermining the perception that journalism and news has a value."
He admitted that he expected to lose a large number of online “window shoppers”, but was confident that the majority of the core readership would be prepared to pay for web access.
Jim Killock, executive director at digital rights and civil liberties campaign group Open Rights Group, said it was up to newspapers to decide which business model to adopt, but that charging for online content is a “curious” model to choose.
“It does go against what the internet is all about, which is freely sharing content with other people around the world,” he said.
“People will naturally gravitate towards online content that is free, so there is an opportunity there, whether it is for bloggers or news companies that do not charge for their content.”
The introduction of paid-for news content could also make it difficult for online news providers to quote articles, Killock argued.
He said that changes to the legal framework surrounding online journalism may need to be reviewed.
“You’re allowed to integrate small quotes from articles in what you post online and you can critique articles, in some cases you can even report news directly for certain purposes.
"However, at the moment, those rights are limited and they may need to be made broader. If it becomes a contest of freedom of speech versus the right to commercial gain, freedom is the bigger right.”
He also voiced fears that publishers may become overprotective of their content if they introduce pay walls, and persecute consumers who share content, in much the same way that the entertainment industries are clamping down on illegal file sharers with the introduction of the Digital Economy Act.