The Toronto Star’s paywall is probably coming down soon

The Toronto Star was late to the paywall party. The Globe, the Sun and the Post had all started hitting up online readers for subscription money when the city’s highest-circulation daily finally made the switch in August 2013. Now, it seems the Star may be one step ahead of the competition: an earnings report released today by the paper’s corporate parent, Torstar, says the company is planning on tearing down the paywall at some point in 2015. The move will mark the end of the Star’s efforts to stanch its constant revenue losses with wads of digital-subscriber cash, but it won’t be the end of the paper’s push to modernize its online presence. Torstar also announced today that it plans to work with Montreal-based daily La Presse on a free tablet edition of the Star. Even five and a half years after the advent of the iPad, this is cutting-edge stuff in the world of Toronto newspapers.