Hurricane Sandy: The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal suspend paywalls

GlobalPost

Both The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal have suspended their paywalls to give readers access to Hurricane Sandy news.

According to Poynter, New York Times spokesperson Eileen Murphy confirmed the suspension by email, saying it started Sunday afternoon in order for readers to get information about the storm.

"The gateway has been removed from the entire site and all apps. The plan is to keep it that way until the weather emergency is over," Murphy said.

More from GlobalPost: The East Coast hunkers down for Hurricane Sandy (PHOTOS)

With the paywall in place, only subscribers — both print and digital — can read more than 10 articles per month. The Times also suspended its paywall last year when Hurricane Irene threatened New York.

Wall Street Journal Digital Network managing editor Raju Narisetti announced the paper's decision to suspend its paywall in a tweet posted Sunday afternoon, reported The Verge. The editor wrote that the site will be "open to all visitors" beginning Monday.

The Wall Street Journal generally offers unlimited digital access for $4.99 per week.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced Sunday afternoon that there would be mandatory evacuations for low-lying parts of New York City, according to Poynter. Hurricane Sandy is expected to make landfall in New Jersey Monday night, and is already responsible for 41 deaths in Cuba, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica and across the Caribbean.

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