To: donald sew who wrote (4567 ) 3/31/2001 12:27:30 AM From: Eurobum1 Respond to of 52237 Donald...This will crack you more... March 28, 2001 TheStreet.com to Charge Readers For Cramer, Greenberg Columns By Brian Steinberg Dow Jones Newswires NEW YORK -- Business news Web site company TheStreet.com Inc. will ask readers to pay for access to articles by two of its better-known writers, James Cramer and Herb Greenberg. The company operates two distinct Web news operations, the free TheStreet.com and the subscription-based RealMoney.com. Previously, content from the two money scribes appeared on the subscription site first, and a day or so later made its way to the free site. In a brief note to readers published Tuesday, Mr. Cramer, a co-founder of the company and an adviser to its chief executive, said TheStreet was responding to RealMoney subscribers' concerns that they were paying for content that nonsubscribers could access for free. "We decided to make it so that my stuff and Herb's stuff -- marquee names on the site -- do not go free," Mr. Cramer said in an interview. "The early returns are positive." Mr. Cramer said he would continue to write about mutual funds for TheStreet.com, "but if you want to see me write about stocks, you have to pay." TheStreet's decision to charge for access to its top writers's stories comes as several Web-content operations ponder changes in business models to gain more revenue. Salon.com said last week it would offer readers a subscription-based version of its Web site that contained no advertisements. The move followed one from Britannica.com, a Web site based on the Britannica encyclopedia series, that asked surfers to pay for access to certain parts of its site. Write to Brian Steinberg at brian.steinberg@dowjones.com