The Toronto Star says it will drop its paywall next year as it launches a new tablet edition. The paper says it will spend as much as $12 million to develop the tablet, a project undertaken with software created by the Montreal daily LaPresse. The Star says it will enter into a joint marketing venture with LaPresse in hope of attracting national advertisers back to newspapers. Speaking in a conference call, Star CEO David Holland said LaPresse has had remarkable success in attracting and holding young readers to its tablet. Some are said to stay for as long as an hour on Saturdays. It is a considerable challenge for the Star and traditional papers as advertising has fled to many other vehicles over the decade. The paywall concept has brought mixed results at generating revenue. Users are able to find free news elsewhere and the paywall has been said to reduce readership online with a comparable loss of online advertising. Canadian Press
