Former Wall Street Journal reporter Jessica Lessin got some attention when she left the newspaper six months ago to start a new online news venture, and this week she launched the project, known as The Information: a subscription-only technology and business news service that costs $399 a year and has no free content or “leaks” in its paywall. The hardness of the wall and the price surprised many — given the experiences of some other new-media outlets that tried and failed with a hard paywall model — but Lessin said in an interview she is convinced she can build a sustainable business based on that approach.

“People talk about this type of paywall is good or bad, but it really depends on the content. If you look at what Paul Carr (of NSFW Corp.) is doing, it’s great, but I think he would agree that no one is going…