Revenue & Resilience

As the economics of journalism continue to evolve, a defining question about the future is whether the news media can create content that consumers are willing to pay for or donate to directly. Central to answering that question is understanding the behavior of what many publishers call the next generation of news audiences: Millennials and Gen Z. This report examines in detail who among these audiences pay for or donate to news, how these payers or donors get news, and what topics or interests drive that behavior.

Americans have a wide range of options for paying for or donating to news today. There are legacy sources, start-up news organizations, and independent creators, [...]

Six news organizations and four expert coaches will participate in API’s product development sprint for alumni of the Table Stakes Local News Transformation Program, which strengthens local journalism through intensive change-management training for news leaders. 

Learn about our Inclusion Index approach to serving communities of color and implementing concrete, sustainable DEIB changes within and outside of the newsroom. API Director of Inclusion and Audience Growth Letrell Crittenden shares insights from his recent work with the Pittsburgh Inclusion Index cohort and solutions to try out in your own newsroom. 

Thirteen news organizations are starting 2023 as part of a cohort assembled by the American Press Institute to track the diversity of people quoted in their stories through Source Matters, API’s award-winning source diversity tracking and analysis tool.

News organizations need to figure out how to show Gen Z and Millennials why their content is more trustworthy than everything else on the internet

The American Press Institute awarded grants to four news organizations participating in the Beyond Print program, a cohort designed to guide publishers away from print-centric [...]

Who are the Americans ages 16 to 40 who are most closely following information on traffic, weather, or transportation, and how are they encountering it?

Overall, Americans ages 16 to 40 pay at least some attention to many topics. On average, they follow nine different topics in our list, often a mix of “lifestyle,” “news you can use,” and “hard news” topics. 

Millennials and members of Generation Z will soon become the industry’s dominant generations of news consumers and subscribers. What news topics do they follow most often, and how do they get that coverage?