Americans want to read local news. There’s just one problem: they don’t want to pay for it.
Some 86 percent of Americans say everyone should have access to local news, even if they don’t pay for it, but just one in five Americans has supported local news in the past year by subscribing to, donating to or purchasing a membership to a local news organization.
The findings are part of a recent Gallup/Knight study about the value and financial future of local news.
In the past 20 years, print circulation shrunk as more and more readers move to digital sources for news. Print advertising revenue decreased too and while most newspapers have robust digital products, the digital advertising revenue gained did not match the print advertising revenue lost.
Traditionally, advertising accounted for about three-fourths of newspaper revenue with the other fourth coming from subscriptions.
News gathering is not cheap. Deep, thorough reporting takes experienced reporters and editors and it takes time. It’s also not very efficient. Hours, sometimes even days are spent chasing down tips that, when checked out, don’t lead to stories.
When people say they don’t need to subscribe to a news source…either print or digital…because they get their news from Facebook or Twitter they are missing the point.
The vast majority of stories people share on social media come from newsrooms that produce newspapers or their websites. Watch cable or network news and you’ll see their shows are driven by stories first reported by the New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal and The Associated Press. Cable news anchors fill their hours by interviewing reporters from these national or regional newspapers who broke the big stories.
Unfortunately, when newsrooms cut expenses, the highest-paid staffers, who just happen to be the most experienced and who have spent decades developing sources and knowledge of community issues, are the first to be cut.
In Minnesota, about 200 journalists work in the StarTribune newsroom – by far the state’s largest. With the exception of Minnesota Public Radio, with it’s powerful fundraising operation, broadcasters can’t match that commitment.
Some local papers, like the Newsleaders and the Morrison County Record, have found a different business model. These newspapers are distributed free with advertising providing all the revenue. Because we deliver to every household – almost 14,000 – in Sartell, St. Stephen and St. Joseph – advertisers are willing to pay for that coverage rather than advertising in subscription publications that may only reach 10, 20 or 30 percent of households.
Nobody has found the magic answer to deal with the financial plight of news.
Most Americans (76 percent) say they need local and state news organizations, and 59 percent see their local newspaper as an important symbol of civic pride. But when it comes to financial support, Americans’ behaviors do not match the value they place on local news.
With just one in five subscribing or donating to local news organizations, the financial base for the industry is limited. Americans believe individuals, philanthropic organizations and tech platforms should help close the financial gap for local news.
Americans are deeply divided on whether subsidies are appropriate, even as some experts have argued they are a key part of the funding puzzle: 66 percent oppose support from the federal government for local news, and 60 percent oppose support from the local government. Most journalists would agree that government support could easily lead to officials wanting to control coverage in return for continued financial support.
The financial strain on local news organizations has hollowed out newsrooms, leaving some communities without a fundamental democratic institution.
Educating the public on the benefits of local news for American democracy, and its current financial straits, increased Americans’ likelihood of financially supporting local news, the study found.
