Saint John — In a move inspired by the fee structure of Prince Edward Island’s Confederation Bridge, online readers of the Telegraph-Journal, The Daily Gleaner, the Times & Transcript and the smaller regional newspapers will be free to log in and read as many articles as they wish.
“You can stay as long as you want on our website — forever even,” remarked Telegraph-Journal editor Gordon Belding, “but if at any point you choose to exit from the site, you will be asked to pay an easy fee of $45.50. This is of course a one-time fee… unless you log in again and then want to log out again.”
The new system is not without its initial kinks, according to retired Grand Bay woman Glenda Fudge. Fudge was reading the Classifieds section online last weekend, but was not able to pay the $45 logout fee because the website only accepts Discover cards for payment. Since attempting to force-close the payment page, Fudge has not been able to access any other website or get up from her chair.
“I don’t have a Discover card… could you bring me a glass of water?” she pleaded.
When informed of Fudge’s predicament, Belding was shocked. “It’s 2016 and this woman doesn’t have a Discover card?”
The Hon. Paula Bigger, Prince Edward Island’s minister of Transportation, Infrastructure and Energy, saw the move as a vindication for the often-ridiculed fee structure of the Confederation Bridge. “I mean, you can stay as long as you want… we’re not the assholes here. And yeah, it’s 2016 — who doesn’t have a Discover card?”