The head of Fairfax Media says it is necessary to make people pay for some of the company's non-print content in order to maintain business.
Advertising revenue has become a key issue for print outlets as many advertisers move their space from newspapers to online.
Fairfax publishes newspapers including the Sydney Morning Herald, Melbourne's Age, The Dominion Post and Sunday-Star Times and owns online auction site Trade Me.
Chief executive Greg Hywood says people will still have reasonable access to Fairfax content.
"We will have some upfront payment ... for the print product. We've said that our new app will be a paid product. We will have payment with perhaps behind some paywalls very special material.
"But we want to make sure that people have access to our brands because if your business is creating audiences, you don't reduce your audiences by taking too much money upfront."
Fairfax is reportedly considering selling part of TradeMe, but Mr Hywood insists the company is still reviewing assets.
