This survey of more than 4,100 recent newspaper was large enough to break down some differences within the population:
- Medium of preference: How digital subscribers differ from print subscribers
- Age: How younger subscribers compare to older subscribers
- Market size: How new subscribers in small towns and big cities are different
- Political views: What drives Republicans or Democrats to subscribe to local news
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- Paths to Subscription: Why recent subscribers chose to pay for news
- What makes people ready to subscribe to local news, and what converts them
- After conversion: How to engage and retain new subscribers
- How different types of recent subscribers vary
- Digital subscribers: What motivates them to pay and how they are different from print readers
- Younger subscribers: What the future of paying for local news looks like
- How subscriber motivations vary in big and small markets
- What drives Republicans or Democrats to subscribe to local news
- Paths to subscription: Nine common journeys from reader to subscriber
- Digital Paywall Converters subscribe because they want unlimited articles
- Topic Hunters subscribe for news about a particular topic or issue
- The Locally Engaged subscribe because they care about the community
- Social Media-Mobile Discoverers subscribe after high-quality engagement on digital platforms
- Journalism Advocates subscribe to support a free press
- Life Changers subscribe because they just moved or changed jobs
- Coupon Clippers subscribe to get print coupons and save money
- Print Fans subscribe because they love relaxing with a paper
- ‘Friends and Family’ subscribers need news to support relationships with people
- Methodology
- Appendix 1: Respondents’ demographics and news behaviors
- Appendix 2: Analytical Definitions of Paths
- Paths to subscription: Nine common journeys from reader to subscriber
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As digital platforms and their users continue to grow and change, the ways news outlets build strategies around them will, too. These are themes we believe are key for digital transformation and sustaining and growing local news.
The next API Local News Summit will be on how local and community-based media might engender a local identity and embrace their geography and history. We’ll help news leaders consider how they contribute to a community’s well-being by fostering a sense of place — and how, when done with care, this might offer new ways to sustain local news.
As research continues to inform this slice of the news industry, we’ll continue learning, too. Who gets to be called a journalist in 2025? What is the future of trustworthy information, especially considering the access to and trust for online content creators? How might journalism adapt to the rise, or co-opt the styles, of news influencers?
