News Limited could be a fortnight away from locking up some of its websites as part of a brave new world of paid web content.

As I have previously reported, the metro dailies have been holding themselves in readiness for some time  to introduce a paywalled version of their content at short notice. There are hints from inside the organisation an announcement could be imminent.

Last week, Herald Sun publisher the Herald and Weekly Times raised eyebrows with the creation of a new position — associate editor (paid content). Steve Acott, who was editing the company’s MX freesheet, will take up the post with special responsibility for AFL content and, according to a statement, “finding innovative ways to bring the game to life on our websites”.

There is an expectation that an announcement of some sort will be made at the Mumbrella 360 conference on June 7, where CEO of News Digital Media Richard Freudenstein is a keynote speaker. The flyer flags as much and there are a lot of News Limited people planning to attend. The blurb teases:

“This is your opportunity to hear from one of the world’s leading media executives, in what is likely to be his only public address of 2011. Although the title of his speech is yet to be confirmed, given Richard’s seniority at News Limited, it is almost certain he will talk about the role of newspapers in the digital world and the latest on News’ paid content plans.”

The thinking in the newsrooms is that each masthead will have several “presences”. There will be the hard copy ink-on-dead-trees edition, the free web edition, the paywalled web edition, and the mobile device application.

Each will have its own chief, answering to the overall editor. Meanwhile each main area of news — health, education and so on and so forth — will have a senior reporter with power to make decisions about what to break and where it should go.

Needless to say, this is a key move and a significant experiment, in the business model and newsroom organisation. Stay tuned.