The current owners of media companies are still infuriated by the way the web has disintermediated access to content, and - like the AP - they want it to stop:

Barry Diller, chairman and chief executive officer of IAC/InterActiveCorp, said Web users will have to pay for what they watch and use, joining the refrain of media moguls who say an era of free Internet content is ending.

The problem with that theory is simple; either you get everyone to play along, or it doesn't work. If the NY Times starts asking for money to view content, it's simple: I'll go elsewhere. The sad reality is that there's very little in the Times (or any other media outlet) that I can't find somewhere else