Published by
The Empire

Newsday is free, for now

Until January 7.

The Long Island-based paper whose content has bravely (and frustratingly) disappeared behind a paywall, is now available to the (cheap!) masses. They explain the temporary giveaway as part of their attempt to showcase their redesign, part of an overhaul I've been obsessing about:

Dear Registered newsday.com User,

We are happy to announce striking changes to newsday.com!

Perhaps the most noticeable change is our new, fresh look, with a lighter color scheme and darker text, as well as a faster load time.  In addition, improved navigation will make it easier to access the stories, photo galleries and videos that interest you most, along with our popular advertising sections for homes, jobs and cars.

For our mobile users, the new design is consistent across all platforms including newsday.com and its iPhone® and iPad® apps.  Other changes include new ways to customize and interact withnewsday.com, as well as a streamlined registration process for both the website and our newsletters.

Every enhancement was inspired by feedback from our users and advertisers - all part of an effort to continue improving our customers’ experience.

We want to showcase these improvements for those people who might be missing out.  Therefore, we are offering open access to newsday.com and making our website available to everyone through January 7, 2011.  This special opportunity, sponsored by Radio City Christmas Spectacular, is our way to ensure that everyone can view, explore and experience the rich value of newsday.com.

If you haven’t already, please check out the new look of newsday.com.  We’ve made some exciting changes and we hope that you will now enjoy newsday.com more than ever!

Sincerely,

Debby Krenek

Editor & EVP, Digital Media