With The New York Times set to start charging online readers for access to articles in 2011, attention today has turned to a surprising revelation about Newsday.

The Times‘ announcement has sent shock waves throughout the media — will the move help balance the books or be the nail in the coffin?

Users will have free access to a point, but will then encounter a so-called “pay wall” where they’ll have to buy further access for the month.

Uncertainty surrounding the potential success or failure of the move now has some context.

Today, among rumors of an Apple Tablet announcement and how it could save print, we get a glimpse into the “pay wall” model as it has been adopted by Newsday:

Three months. 35 subscribers.

The Dolan family recently bought the paper for $650 million. $4 million was spent on the development of a new-look website. The company has brought in $9,000 from 35 subscribers.

Newsday, for sure, isn’t as big or broad as The Times. But one has to wonder if Bill Keller is sweating right now.