Following News International’s decision that the Times and Sunday Times will charge for online access, the news industry is dividing into distinct camps over the question of whether journalism is worth paying to read.

Everyone inthe Centre should know my view: the idea that journalists can gather facts and hold power to account on a charitable basis is nonsensical. The industry was built on the principle of fair payment for quality reporting.Free access to news spells the end of professional newsgathering on which representative democracy depends.

 Perhaps out of of self interest, perhaps out of principle, and hopefully because of both, some media groups are reaching the same conclusion. Others remain defiantly hostile to online paywalls. The most successful of the resisters, in terms of online readership, is the Guardian. Sadly it is expanding its reach at the expense of huge financial losses. I wrote about it, and the broader debate, for the Independent.