Time Warner CEO hints at online fees for magazines

(AP) -- One of the world's largest magazine publishers appears to be having second thoughts about giving away most of its articles on the Internet.

Time Warner CEO Jeffrey Bewkes told an investor conference Friday that he doesn't think it makes much sense for publishers to provide their content without a way to recover the production costs.

But Bewkes didn't say whether Time Warner's magazine group, which includes Time, People and Sports Illustrated, is considering charging fees for access to its Web sites.

Many publishers, particularly in the newspaper industry, are drawing up plans to charge Internet readers to help offset a steep decline in ad revenue.

Ad revenue in Time Warner's publishing division plunged 30 percent in the first quarter.

©2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.