it would stop charging for access to parts of its Web site, effective at midnight the following day, reflecting a growing view in the industry that subscription fees cannot outweigh the potential ad revenue from increased traffic on a free site. Times columnists including Nicholas Kristof and Thomas Friedman had criticized TimesSelect, with Friedman going so far as to say "I hate it. It pains me enormously because it's cut me off from a lot, a lot of people, especially because I have a lot of people reading me overseas, like in India ... I feel totally cut off from my audience." Paywall and digital subscriptions In 2007, in addition to opening almost the entire site to all readers, The New York Times news archives from 1987 to the present were made available at no charge to non-subscribers, as well as those from 1851 to 1922, which are in the public domain. Falling print advertising revenue and projections of continued decline resulted in a "metered paywall" being instituted in March 2011, limiting non-subscribers to a monthly allotment of 20 free on-line articles per month. This measure was regarded as modestly successful after garnering several hundred thousand subscriptions and about $100 million in revenue . Beginning in April 2012, the number of free-access articles was halved from 20 to 10 articles per month. Any reader who wanted to access more would have to pay for a digital subscription. This plan allowed free access for occasional readers. Digital subscription rates for four weeks ranged from $15 to $35 depending on the package selected, with periodic new subscriber promotions offering four-week all-digital access for as low as 99¢. Subscribers to the paper's print edition got full access without any additional fee. Some content, such as the front page and section fronts remained free, as well as the Top News page on mobile apps. In January 2013, The New York Times Public Editor Margaret M. Sullivan announced that for the first time in many decades, the paper generated more revenue through subscriptions than through advertising. In December 2017, the number of free articles per month was reduced from 10 to 5, the first change to the metered paywall since April 2012. An executive of the New York Times Company stated that the decision was motivated by "an all-time high" in the demand for journalism. A digital subscription to The New York Times cost $16