Economist.com took a pass on the free-content phenomenon first time around - now, just as flares and yo-yos came back in to fashion, the publisher sees pay walls regaining popularity in an advertising downturn.

SEE ALSO: @ FOBM: Economist.com Maintains Free/Subscription Mix

The news mag’s site already charges for stories over a year old and, publisher Paul Rossi told our Future Of Business Media conference, that could be just the right model for a looming recession: “The growth in online advertising is slowing. Is this the return to paid content online, because advertising becomes less a driver for the business? It will be be interesting to see if paid content comes back online because the model is changing.”

—Weathering the storm: Current economic turmoil will bring no directional shift from Rossi, who says The Economist is ideally placed to profit from dark days: “One of the things you don’t do is change your strategy. When you have a market like this, you have an opportunity, so we won’t be pulling back our marketing. It’s what we’ve been writing about for thee last 150 years; what the economy does has never been more relevant.” A big emphasis is being placed on driving US adoption.

—Kindle plans: Rossi also revealed The Economist is to launch on Amazon’s Kindle: “We need to have a Kindle strategy, which we’re working on. Watch this space.” A UK launch for Amazon (NSDQ: AMZN) is not yet confirmed, remember.