The Sacramento Bee will stop charging the $499 annual subscription for access to its state government news site, Capitol Alert, and will move to a free, ad-supported model, according to a memo sent to current subscribers that was posted on Romenesko.

SEE ALSO: Sac Bee Introduces Fee-Based Site Aimed At Politicos’ Deep Pockets

The McClatchy-owned newspaper introduced the fee-based site aimed at state government lobbyists and politicos in January. While the general subscription charge was $499 a year, lower rates were available for offices or organizations that buy several memberships at once.

—Reuters: A Sac Bee rep insisted that the paper simply felt that doing away with the paid online subscriptions made sense over the long term. However, declining to offer the number of subs, the rep conceded that: “It’s fair to say that it did not meet expectations.”