Although it's a first for a North American news source, the idea has already gathered some steam elsewhere. For example, Dutch startup Blendle allows users to select stories from a number of sources and pay for each article they read. At last count it had well over 200,000 subscribers. Interestingly, Blendle says that "regular news" -- like the article you're reading right now -- doesn't fare so well in a pay-per-click system. Instead, the articles that sell are longform journalism, analysis and commentary. Of course, Free Press offers a mixture of news and more in-depth coverage, but if Blendle's results are anything to go by, the newspaper may have trouble persuading readers to stump up cash for the typical daily news that comprises a large portion of its content.