What do newspaper readers want? Quality, Accuracy, Fairness

Why do subscribers choose to pay for news? Research conducted by the Media Insight Project, an initiative of the American Press Institute and the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, has come up with some interesting findings (reported on the API website):

• Readers decide to subscribe to their local newspaper based on a few common ‘preconditions’: They want access to local news, they are intrigued by the content, and/ or they want to support local journalism.
• But there is one major “trigger” that ultimately causes many readers to act on their decision: a promotion or free trial. For digital subscribers, many subscribe after repeatedly hitting a paywall meter.
• Readers can also take a long time to decide to subscribe: 74 per cent of those surveyed purchased a subscription after engaging with the publication for at least a few months.
• Although discounts and paywalls are what push readers to subscribe, many say they stay subscribed because they value a publication’s journalistic qualities. Accuracy, willingness to admit mistakes, and dealing fairly with all sides were the top three reasons people we surveyed said they stayed subscribed to their local newspaper.

The article draws attention to other pertinent observations. One, funding for the news industry is going through an epochal change. In the future, virtually all signals suggest less of the revenue will come from advertising and more from consumers paying for news. Two, the move towards subscriptions will require measuring audiences differently, with analytics that measure deep engagement and not just page views. Publishers will need to segment audiences by their loyalty also and by their eventual likelihood to pay. Perhaps, most significantly, the newsroom and business sides of news organisations will be aligned more than before. The move towards subscriptions places the newsroom—and quality content worth paying for—at the centre of the business strategy.

About 4100 recent newspaper subscribers covered by the survey had subscribed in the past three months to 90 local newspapers across the United States. So, what motivates new subscribers? The study, the article says, revealed that 60 per cent want access to local news, 40 per cent notice a lot of interesting, useful articles; 31 per cent per cent want to support local journalism, and 45 per cent subscribed because of a promotion or free trial. And what is key after subscribing? Results showed that 78 per cent value getting reliable, accurate facts, and 68 per cent value paper dealing fairly with all sides. A significant finding was that quality and accuracy matter to nearly every subscriber group, especially after they subscribe.