Can the paywall be made to pay?

Warren Buffett is the latest notable to say that if only newspapers made people pay for the news, the industry would be okay.  Possibly. But the psychological  hurdle for publishers of who will be first seems a high one. Close down online and lose readers to your competitors who are still online  And what to do about the great national and international broadcasters who are uniquely qualified to be on the Internet. "Join our post show program online"  News is the one place where television hasn't been hurt by the Internet. And finally there's the hordes of freelance tinkerers and blog maniacs who are sniffing around the morning paper's lunch in local news. Getting people to pay for news seems like a long shot.