Here's the fallacy with what you are saying: Click-through-rates are not going to increase because people signed-up for a free account with an email address.

Here's the fallacy with what you are saying: Click-through-rates are not going to increase because people signed-up for a free account with an email address. Greater revenue comes from greater traffic. Simple as that. If every time I see an interesting link from the NY Times and try to read it I am hit with a modal subscription request, well, very soon I just stop clicking NY Times links. The other side of that is paid subscription to these newspapers-turned-web-news outlets. My guess is this is a bad (or let's just say, non sustainable) approach. If these outlets had to survive on paid web subscriptions they would likely shrink severely or evaporate. There's a reason for which television can still garner massive audiences. Imagine if every single TV channel demanded a subscription or registration.