Do people really pay for news?

#1

Post by danm07 » Thu, Jul 20, 2017, 11:05 PM UTC

Is there a revenue modal for news that appeals to users? I hear a lot of complaints, including from PG, that subscriptions are a pain to manage, yet it is the most widely used.

Would a pay-per-article work better or would it repel users?

Re: Do people really pay for news?

#2

Post by gamechangr » Fri, Jul 21, 2017, 1:16 AM UTC

People are paying for news - less and less - every year.

I think a "pay-per-article" may have worked better 10 years ago, I can't even justify paying for great newspapers anymore..

It's a race to the bottom, where the only real money will come from advertisers.

Re: Do people really pay for news?

#3

Post by smt88 » Fri, Jul 21, 2017, 2:51 AM UTC

gamechangr wrote: post #2

People are paying for news - less and less - every year. I think a "pay-per-article" may have worked better 10 years ago, I can't even justify paying for great newspapers anymore.. It's a race to the bottom, where the only real money will come from advertisers.

> People are paying for news - less and less - every year.

This is only true of print. Digital subscriptions are growing[1], and the national newspapers in the US (WaPo, NYT, LAT) are doing well financially. They're growing and hiring. Digital subscriptions exploded after Trump was elected.

1. http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/06/01/circulation-...