According to the Media Insight Project, a program of the American Press Institute and The Associated Press, in a series of major studies on the habits of news consumers in the United States, the vast majority of Millennials, Americans age 18 to 34, regularly use paid content for entertainment or news.
Moreover, a younger adult’s willingness to pay for news is correlated with his or her broader beliefs about the value of news. The Millennials who want to stay connected with the world, who are interested in news, and who are more engaged with news on social networks are the most likely to be willing to personally pay for news.
Millennials who do regularly use, and often personally pay for, news content, challenge the notion that Millennials believe everything on the web must be free, says the report. But there are still significant obstacles that will make a paid or subscription model a challenge for publishers looking to reach the next generation of news consumers.
53% of US Millennials report having regularly consumed paid news content, in print, digital, or combined formats in the past year, according to a recent report from The Media Insight Project. 40% of Millennials say they have paid for news products or services out of their own pocket in the past year.
Millennials over the age of 21 are about twice as likely as those 18-21 to pay for news personally; 44% of respondents age 30-34 pay for news out of their own pocket, compared with 23% of those 18-21 years old.
Precent of Millennials Who Personally Pay for News | |
Age | Approx % of Millennials |
18-21 | 23% |
22-24 | 45 |
25-29 | 46 |
30-34 | 44 |
Source: The Media Insight Project, November 2015 |
38% of respondents say they have regularly consumed paid print news products (newspapers, magazines, etc.) in the past year; 41% have consumed combined print/digital news products, and 21% from digital-only outlets.
Regular Consumption Of Paid News | |
News Resource | % of Millennials Consuming |
Use only print news | 38% |
Use both print and digital news | 41 |
Use only digital news | 21 |
Source: The Media Insight Project, November 2015 |
Some 21% of respondents say they regularly pay for magazines themselves, and 15% say they regularly pay for print newspapers.
Not surprisingly, Millennials who believe keeping up with the news is extremely or very important, are significantly more likely to personally pay for news compared with those who do not.
Millennials Personally Paying For News | |
News Source | Approx.% of Millennials |
Print magazines | 21% |
Print newspaper | 15 |
Digital news app | 14 |
Digital magazine | 11 |
Digital newspaper | 10 |
Email newsletter | 10 |
Source: The Media Insight Project, November 2015 |
However, even among Millennials who believe keeping up with the news is important, just 50% pay for news products out of their own pockets.
Importance of Keeping Up | |
Importance of News | % Paying Out of Own Pocket |
Keeping up with news is extremely or very important | 50% |
Keeping up is somewhat important | 35 |
Keeping up is not very or not at all important | 32 |
Source: The Media Insight Project, November 2015 |
Facebook, television, and search engines are the most commonly used sources to learn about topics—both for Millennials who believe keeping up with the news is important and for those who do not, says the report.
Commonly Used Sources For News | ||
Source For Topic | Most Common for Those Who Pay | Most Common for Non-Payers |
Traffic of weather | Local TV station | Local TV station |
Crime and public safety | ||
National politics and government | ||
Science and technology | Search engine | Search engine |
Info about own city, town, neighborhood | Local TV | |
Social issues like abortion, race, gay rights | ||
Health care and medical info | Search engine | |
Environment and natural disasters | Local TV | |
Schools and education | Word of mouth | |
Foreign or international news | National TV | |
Business and the economy | National TV | Search engine |
Religion and faith | Word of mouth | |
Source: The Media Insight Project, November 2015 |
For additional information from the Media Insight Report, please visit here.
Frankly, "paid for in the past year" is a pretty poor way to define interest in news. All of the research indicates that the average millennial is much less interested in news about the world, politics, etc than older people, though if you broaden the definition of news to include sports, entertainment business/celebrity gossip, etc. this generalization might not apply.
These numbers don't inspire confidence in the printed newspaper as a future source for news. Agreed with Ed that the one year time frame is a bit long for determining active interest.