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Journalism Studies
ISSN: 1461-670X (Print) 1469-9699 (Online) Journal homepage: https://www.tandfonline.com/loi/rjos20
Why Do Citizens Pay for Online Political News and
Public Affairs? Socio-psychological Antecedents of
Local News Paying Behaviour
Manuel Goyanes
To cite this article: Manuel Goyanes (2019): Why Do Citizens Pay for Online Political News and
Public Affairs? Socio-psychological Antecedents of Local News Paying Behaviour, Journalism
Studies, DOI: 10.1080/1461670X.2019.1694429
To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/1461670X.2019.1694429
Published online: 26 Nov 2019.
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Why Do Citizens Pay for Online Political News and Public
Affairs? Socio-psychological Antecedents of Local News
Paying Behaviour
Manuel Goyanes
a,b
a
Department of Communication Sciences, Carlos III University, Madrid, Spain;
b
Democracy Research Unit,
Political Science, University of Salamanca, Salamanca, Spain
ABSTRACT
Local news organizations play a crucial role in informing rural or
suburban communities about current events and politics. With the
growing concentration of populations in large cities, many citizens
may feel they are missing out on essential information about their
local communities, thus affecting their knowledge about local
issues and public policies. This study examines how readers’
perceptions of the financial state of local news organizations,
journalists’engagement with local communities and users’local
content creation affect readers’paying behaviour for local news.
Drawing on data from the Pew Research Center, results indicate
that readers’perceptions of the financial state of local news
organizations predict their paying behaviour. Second, findings
show that journalists’engagement with their local communities
and users’content creation are crucial factors for increasing the
probability of paying for local news. Finally, readers’age is
explored as a moderator between news organizations financial
state and readers’paying behaviour. This study adds to the
growing literature on the socio-psychological antecedents
involved in paying behaviour for local news organizations.
KEYWORDS
Local news; local news
organizations; paying
behaviour; financial state;
content creation;
engagement
Introduction
During the last decade, many national and local news organizations have had to close,
implement downsizing operations or develop measures aimed at reducing costs, mostly
through salary reductions (Edkale et al. 2015; Sherwood and O’Donnell 2018). The
financial crisis (Siles and Boczkowski 2012), the changing readers’consumption patterns
(Costera-Meijer and Groot-Kormelink 2015), and the free to fee transition (Kammer et al.
2015), have challenged the traditional structures and business models of most national
and local media companies. In this context, print readership and advertising incomes
have increasingly declined (Cawley 2019), meanwhile, digital platforms have experienced
a huge growth. Despite the digital take offof the digital business, online advertising and
subscription revenues could not compensate print losses (Myllylahti 2017), pushing many
news organizations to implement paid content strategies based on business models that
ask readers to pay (Goyanes 2014).
© 2019 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group
CONTACT Manuel Goyanes mgoyanes@hum.uc3m.es
JOURNALISM STUDIES
https://doi.org/10.1080/1461670X.2019.1694429
Local news organizations have been affected by all these structural challenges, but their
position in the market and value propositions have allowed them a better digital transition
(Lewis, Kaufhold and Lasorsa 2009). Previous scholarship on local news organizations has
highlighted the privileged position of local outlets in asking readers to pay due to their
specialized nature and traditional relationship with audiences (Napoli et al. 2017). Accord-
ing to Goyanes et al. (2018), journalistic values such as the exclusiveness and specialization
of news contents are key explanatory factors to understand readers’paying behaviour. In a
context of globalized information and media de-attachment (Borja et al. 1999), local news
organizations play a crucial role in informing communities about local/national public
affairs and politics. However, despite their key function in local integration (Franklin and
Richardson 2002) and traditional role as public service in rural communities or suburbs
(Paulussen and D’heer 2013), little research has explored citizens’perceptions about
their social relevance in relation to their paying behaviour. This study addresses this
gap by exploring how the financial state of local news organizations, journalists’engage-
ment with local communities and citizens’news production practices predict readers’
paying behaviour.
Specifically, this article examines how community readers respond to the growing
closure of local news organizations in the United States (UNC 2018). First, this paper con-
siders whether having negative perceptions on the financial state of local news organiz-
ations might lead to an increased probability to pay for local news. Second, the study
test whether readers’perceptions on journalists’engagement with local communities
and readers’content creation affect their paying behaviour. Drawing on survey data
from the Pew Research, these relationships were tested in a logistic regression model
that incorporates several control variables, including demographic information, social
media use for news, easiness of local news consumption and interest in news. Findings
indicate that readers that reported higher concerns regarding the financial state of local
news organizations are more prone to pay for local news. In addition, results show a posi-
tive relationship between journalists’engagement with their local communities and
readers’paying behaviour. Findings also indicate that citizens who create local news
content are more likely to pay for local news services. Finally, group differences (moder-
ation effects) in the perception levels of the financial state of local news organizations
between young and old news readers were tested.
Hypotheses Development
Readers’Financial Perception on Local Outlets and Paying Behaviour
Starting from a dual system, where newspapers create content to serve the public, and
then sell their mass audience reach in exchange for advertising revenue (Campos 2010),
last decade’s economic recession disturbed the financial structure of most news outlets
(Evens and Van Damme 2016), forcing many of them to explore new digital revenue
models (Sjøvaag 2016). Under this digital transition, many news organizations
implemented paid content strategies based on business models that ask audiences to
pay (Goyanes 2015), growingly relying on readers’payments (i.e., subscriptions) as a
crucial source of income. The general inability to monetize digital contents, along with
readers’changing consumption patterns, led many media scholars to devote their
2M. GOYANES
efforts to examine and explore the potential factors that increase the likelihood of paying
for news (Kammer et al. 2015). Despite that early market research suggested that US
readers were hardly paying for online news, as they perceived there were many other
free available options online, recent market and scholarly research show that these pro-
phecies were not correctly adjusted. In fact, according to the Reuters Institute for the
Study of Journalism, in 2019, 16% of US readers have paid for online news, rising by 7%
since 2013. In this context of digital transition, how news organizations transform and
adapt their digital strategies to convince readers to pay seems essential.
A rich display of media-use perspectives has been examined in order to assess the
impact of digital news consumption (Ruggiero 2000; Cooper and Tang 2009; McQuail
2010; Taneja et al. 2012; Sullivan 2013) and the willingness to pay for online news
(Goyanes 2014). Such perspectives have included motivational (Wadbring and Bergström
2015), situational (Wonneberg, Schoenbach, and van Meurs 2012), and demographic ante-
cedents (Wadbring and Bergström 2015), employing both correlational (Fletcher and
Nielsen 2017; Chen and Thorson 2019) and experimental designs (Goyanes, Artero, and
Zapata 2018). Previous studies on the socio-demographic antecedents of readers’
paying intent found that younger adults, with higher incomes, who have purchased
other digital products, and who already paid for print news (Goyanes 2015; Fletcher
and Nielsen 2017), are more prone to pay for digital contents. Chyi, Lee, and Holton
(2016), also found a third-person effect, suggesting that people consistently perceive
others as more likely to pay for news across three news platforms (print, the web, and
app), shedding light also on the psychology behind online news consumption and
paying behaviour. Likewise, Gundlach and Hofmann (2017), employing a conjoint analysis,
found that the majority of news readers from their sample (60%) were not willing to pay
(WTP) for tablet news apps, while 40% exhibited moderate WTP.
Beyond socio-demographic and media antecedents, news values characteristics, such
as the exclusiveness and authorship of news contents (Goyanes, Artero, and Zapata
2018), were shown to be fundamental drivers of readers’pecuniary evaluations. Recent
research on paywalls has also problematized the main strategies of news organizations
to monetize digital contents. For instance, Sjøvaag (2016), analysing three Norwegian
online newspapers, showed that specialized content such as local information is usually
paywalled, while syndicated content and immediacy news tend to remain open. Relatedly,
Myllylahti (2017), identified hard news and opinion pieces as the content mostly located
inside newspapers’paywalls in leading Australian newspapers. Recent research also
show that perceived quality and habit strength are crucial predictors of readers’paying
intent (Chen and Thorson 2019), emphasizing the critical role of news consumption rou-
tinization and news quality in shaping reader’s paying behaviour. Finally, Olsen and
Solvoll (2018), studying local newspapers value proposition and readers’response to
these business strategies, found that younger users, with lower income and news interest
are those who less value local news organizations’value propositions and thus, when they
hit a paywall, they most likely ignore it and move on.
As shown, extant research have focused in exploring the individual-level factors (Chyi,
Lee, and Holton 2016; Goyanes 2015; Kammer et al. 2015;Fletcher and Nielsen 2017) and
news value characteristics (Goyanes, Artero, and Zapata 2018; Chen and Thorson 2019)
that may explain the increasing likelihood of engaging in paying behaviours. In addition,
these studies were usually conducted taking as reference national news organizations,
JOURNALISM STUDIES 3
neglecting as a consequence both the psychological factors behind readers’paying intent
and the social relevance of local news organizations in shaping news value assessments.
This study argues that the psychology of paying behaviour and the specificities of local
news organizations are crucial factors to explore readers’paying behaviour as they may
play a significant role in expressing readers’perceptions and attitudes towards the
value of news. First, local news organizations have a decisive role in maintaining a
healthy democracy in neighbourhoods and communities (Williams et al. 2014), informing
audiences about relevant local/national public affairs and politics. Local news organiz-
ations are strategic to inform local communities, having a direct impact on the private
and public lives of most citizens by providing rich insights on public policies (Mersey
2009; Paulussen and D’heer 2013), fostering integration and enriching public discourses.
Second, beyond the traditional socio-demographic, news value characteristics and
readers’consumption antecedents across multiple platforms, the way news audiences
perceive the financial state of local news organizations may be a determinant factor to
explain their attitudes towards the value of local news organizations in society. Local
newspapers have a decisive role in maintaining a healthy democracy (Paulussen and
D’heer 2013), as these media outlets are usually the only source of local information for
isolated communities. These democratic functions were pointed by Barnett (2009)as
being: informing, representing, campaigning and interrogating, meaning that local news-
papers serve the purpose to maintain the citizens updated on meaningful events, become
their spokesperson towards local elites, foster public services and public interest goals, as
well as holding authorities accountable for their actions (Barnett 2009). Therefore, in order
to inform local communities, stimulate civil participation and knowledge about public
affairs and politics, it is crucial to maintain local newspapers in both stable social and
financial conditions that enable these tasks to be performed, a matter which has unra-
velled deep professional and academic discussions in the search for a suitable business
model in recent years.
A very common strategy to monetize digital contents is to raise paywalls over exclusive
news contents (Pickard and Williams 2014). This would benefit local newspapers particu-
larly since they are likely to have more specialized, geographically focused contents based
on the needs and wants of their local audiences (Goyanes 2015). The content specializ-
ation of local media outlets based on rich information about municipal or regional
issues have allowed them a better digital transition (Lewis and Lasorsa 2009). In fact,
local newspapers almost universally enjoy a much greater circulation within their particu-
lar distribution areas than most of the national alternatives (Franklin and Richardson 2002),
generally establishing the local agendas of their readership. Local newspapers are crucial
for informing citizens, as geography remains a fundamental driver of news consumption
and interest (Barneet and Townend 2014). Their basic function in democratic society lies
“in the service that it gives to its own region, a service which cannot be offered by news-
papers published elsewhere”(Ross 1998, 231). Local news outlets usually serve a defined
geographic community (Lewis and Lasorsa 2009), often in a small city or rural area, hence
their importance in the creation of a sense of community and the production of news con-
tents pertaining to the town council based on coverage of every aspect of local reality
(Bew 2006).
As local news organizations now face growing financial constraints, due to the general
inability to monetize digital contents and the rise of social media as a source for news (Gil
4M. GOYANES
de Zúñiga, Jung, and Valenzuela 2012), many readers’may feel that they need to contrib-
ute to their survival by paying for such services. In fact, the crisis of local journalism has had
its consequences in the disappearance of multiple local outlets and the de-professionali-
zation of some (Barnett and Townend 2015). As a 2018 report from the University of North
Caroline states, about 20% of US local newspapers have closed since 2004, which has left
some inner-city neighbourhoods, suburbs and rural areas without the outlets that served
both as social energizers and promoters of a collective identity (UNC 2018). If local news
organizations are being closed, many regions and communities may not be fully informed,
as local news organizations are usually the most relevant news sources on regional pro-
blems, policies and issues (Bew 2006; Napoli et al. 2017). As a result, many citizens may
feel prone to contribute to their financial stabilization by paying for local news services
or by making donations.
Psychological theories about public paying intent in relation to causes or situations in
which a will to fight is perceived have explored the main drivers that trigger citizens to
help in a moment of need (Basil, Ridgway, and Basil 2008). Two main elements arise
from these studies, one is empathy, which acts as the emotional link responsible for
individuals feeling obliged or inclined to help a cause (Verhaert and Van den Poel
2011), and the other is efficacy, which is the public’s perception of their ability to
help by contributing with their own means (Basil, Ridgway, and Basil 2008). Empathy
has been shown to increase in a context where citizens are confronted with others in
need (Verhaert and Van den Poel 2011), especially when “the others in need”are
close by. For a local journal in a difficult situation, the relation between empathy,
efficacy and proximity, alongside paying intent, are four socio-psychological elements
that shape readers’perceptions and attitudes about online news organizations and
their value in society. As local newspapers are perceived as crucial agents in the demo-
cratic ecosystem of their community (Bew 2006; Barnett and Townend 2015), it can be
assumed that readers’perceptions on their financial state might affect their paying
behaviour in order to avoid a potential bankruptcy and thus, losing their fundamental
source of information. Specifically, it can be expected that a downwards financial situ-
ation of local news outlets will be associated with readers’paying or donation intent. In
a more formal hypothesis:
(H1) Readers who perceive that the financial situation of local outlets is delicate are more likely
to pay, subscribe, donate or become members of a local news service. In other words, the
lower the readers’perceptions about the financial state of local news media, the higher the
chances of engaging on an economic transaction.
In addition, this study aims to explore whether the effects of the interaction between
readers’perceptions on the financial state of local journalism and age, predict readers’
paying behaviour. Specifically, the statistical model is designed to test whether readers’
perceptions on the financial state of local journalism and readers’age, reduce or increase
the probability of paying for news. It is possible that age differences might differently inter-
act with perceptions on the state of local news outlets and thus increasing or decreasing
individuals’probability to pay for local news services. Since the key objective of this study
is to test the relationship between readers’perceptions on the financial state of local jour-
nalism and age, while also exploring the potential group differences in this relationship,
the following research question is proposed:
JOURNALISM STUDIES 5
(RQ1) What is the nature of the moderation that stems from the introduction of age in the
relationship between readers’perception on the financial state of local news organizations
and readers’paying behaviour?
Journalists’Engagement and Citizens’Content Creation
The fee to free transition has not been the only crisis faced by media outlets in the last years.
More recently, a confidence crisis, fostered by a strong anti-press rhetoric during the 2016
American elections led to an all-time low in the American public’snewsevaluation(Gilde
Zúñiga, Diehl, and Ardèvol-Abreu 2018), which has had devastating consequences on a
global scale, with only half of the people living in the European Union saying they trust
the written press (McCarthy 2014; European Broadcasting Union 2017). Before this, confi-
dence issues regarding news outlets were mostly linked to a deficit in news consumption
and a turn towards entertainment content (Tsfati and Capella 2003), thus provoking a
growing detachment from public life (Gil de Zúñiga, Diehl, and Ardèvol-Abreu 2018). This
concern is even deeper among local news organizations, as the integration of their
readers in public life is key for both their professional and financial performance.
However, contrary to the general declining perspectives on the press, hyperlocal media
are being regarded as innovative, viable and useful (Harte, Turner, and Williams 2016), fos-
tering public participation in the creation of news and harnessing a strong local angle that
is regarded of high civil value (Williams, Harte, and Turner 2015). Extant research has
shown a positive circular relation between news consumption and civic engagement
(Norris 2000), which adds on to the previous idea of the public hosting more positive
views on outlets that allow for more participatory news creation. Different communication
models have stated the relation between interpersonal local communication and social
capital formation (Shah, Kwak, and Holbert 2001; Beaudoin and Thorson 2006; Nah and
Yamamoto 2018), which demonstrate the importance of the prominence of local journal-
ists with regards to their social connections and local civic affairs engagement.
The social capital perspective, alongside Ball-Rokeach, Kim, and Matei’s communication
infrastructure theory explain the capacity of organizational membership and neighbour-
hood belonging to affect local media use (Ball-Rokeach, Kim, and Matei 2001), enabling
the public to engage in effective problem assessment routines and contributing in more
citizen-driven journalism activities (Nah and Yamamoto 2018). In this sense, the connection
between community and local media works beneficially in both directions. On the one
hand, local media assists its public in learning about local news and events, and in exchange,
the public feels prone to contribute to journalistic activities as it regards the media to be
closely attached to its neighbours (Nah and Yamamoto 2018). Citizen journalism and
local issues are linked by definition. It is therefore natural that local news has a need for a
citizen perspective, increasing, as a result, civic engagement and hence trust in news.
On the other hand, from the public’s perspective, journalists’own condition as citizens
is very often overlooked (Deuze, Bruns, and Neuberger 2007). Therefore, it is journalists’
duty, through their integration in local affairs and community’s dynamic, to promote
their role as group members (McCollough, Crowell, and Napoli 2017), building social
capital and enabling channels for the public’sparticipation in order to preserve the jour-
nal’s regard as a trustworthy community service (Deuze, Bruns, and Neuberger 2007). A
connection between journalists and their audiences is a crucial element for fostering
6M. GOYANES
news consumption and trust, and it is also a necessary component for understanding audi-
ences needs and wants (Nah and Yamamoto 2018). A real and long-time relationship
between audiences and journalists is thus fundamental to address readers’social reality
and interest in public affairs and politics, especially in rural areas or suburbs where local
newspapers are usually the main source of news. Taking into account how previous
research has problematized the links between local media use, civic engagement and
effective problem solving capacities (Bakker and de Vreese 2011; Farnham et al. 2012;
Nah and Yamamoto 2018), it is reasonable to assume that, if there is a tightly knit
feeling of belonging both by the readers and journalists and a strong consideration by
readers on the key role of local news outlets in informing local communities, audiences
will be more sensitive towards local news organizations financial state. Therefore, it can
be assumed that citizens that perceived that journalist are engaged and understand
their local community may feel more prone to contribute to their financial stability by
paying or giving donations for such services. In a more formal hypothesis:
(H2) Citizens that perceive that journalist are personally engaged and understand the history
of their local community are more likely to pay, subscribe, donate or becoming members of a
local news service
Similarly, recent research on political communication shows that news consumption
positively correlates with citizens’participation (Gil de Zúñiga et al. 2013), by increasing
the knowledge about public affairs and politics and providing mobilizing information.
Readers exposed to social issues are also more likely to be politically involved (Scheufele,
Shanahan, and Kim 2002), while traditional consumption and social media use for news are
positive predictors of online and offline political participation (Strömbäck and Shehata
2010; Bakker and de Vreese 2011). The relationship between citizens’content creation
and paying intent for news has yet to be explored, but very similar patterns to those of
political participation might be expected. Specifically, previous research on the antece-
dents of user content creation indicates that younger adults (Jones and Fox 2009) and
people belonging to ethnic minorities (Harp et al. 2010) are more prone to engage in
news creation activities.
Extant research on citizens’news consumption suggests that trust in journalists led to
increased levels of news consumption (Fletcher and Park 2017), while positive perceptions
of professional journalism have a positive influence on citizens’news consumption habits
(Gil de Zúñiga and Hinsley 2013). In short, how people relate to journalists, their practices,
and their performance explains certain orientations towards journalism. One of these
orientations may relate to readers’paying intent. Citizens who are interested in the
news making process, who create their own local news content and are interested in
local news more generally might also be more willing to pay for news. The local signifi-
cance of news outlets in shaping citizens’local reality and readers’contribution by
means of content creation might be a stimulus for becoming increasingly attached to
their local news source and contributing to its financial stability. Therefore, it can be
assumed that those citizens that have created local news content may be more prone
to pay for local news services too. In a more formal hypothesis:
(H3) Citizens who create their own local news contents are more likely to pay, subscribe,
donate or becoming members of a local news service.
JOURNALISM STUDIES 7
Method
Sample
The analysis in this study is based on a representative Pew Research Center survey con-
ducted in 2018. The overall target population for the survey was non-institutionalized
persons age 18 and over, living in the United States, including Alaska and Hawaii. In
total 34.898 were surveyed. The margin of sampling error for the weighted estimates is
±0.82 percentage points. Since the analysis is based on secondary data, the methodology
information, the questionnaire development and testing, the data collection protocol, the
data quality checks and weighting are publically available in website of the Pew Research
Center (https://www.journalism.org/datasets/). The results of the study carried out by the
Pew Research Center (Journalism & Media) are descriptive. That is, only descriptive stat-
istics are used to explore the general situation of US local news without advancing any
inferential tests. The analysis performed and the results obtained in this manuscript are
new, except for the descriptive (raw) data in relation to single-item variables.
Independent and Dependent Variables
Customer paying behaviour for news. The dependent variable was measured asking respon-
dents if “in the past year, have you directly paid or given money to any local news source
by subscribing, donating or becoming a member”. The values of this variable were binary 0
for no (N= 26.549) and 1 for yes (N= 7.982).
Perception on financial state of local outlets. Respondents were asked “thinking about
the financial state of your local news media, how well do you think your local news
outlets are doing financially”on a four-point Likert scale ranging from 1 = not at all well
to 4 = very well (M= 2.88; SD = 0.75).
Citizens content creation. Respondents were asked “do you ever post or submit your
own local news content, such as articles, videos or photos, to a news outlet, listserv or
social media group”. The values of this variable were binary 0 for no (N= 30.810) and 1
for yes (N= 3.850).
Journalists role. Respondents were asked how important do they think it is for local jour-
nalists to “be personally engaged in the local community”and “understand the history of
the community”(two-item averaged scale, 1 = not at all important to 4 = very important;
Cronbach’sα= 0.73; mean = 3.38; SD: 0.64).
Control Variables
In order to control for potential confounds, the statistical models also include a variety of
variables that may explain relationships between the variables of interest. The first set of
controls includes socio-demographic variables (age, gender, income, and race) and
respondents’local attachment to their local community. Then, three more variables con-
trolled for the effect of news consumption patterns: social media user for local news con-
sumption, easiness of local news consumption and news interest.
Local attachment. Respondents were asked how attached do they feel to their local
community on a four-point Likert scale ranging from 1 = not at all to 4 = very (mean =
3.05; SD: 0.78)
8M. GOYANES
Social media use for news. Respondents were asked how often “do you get local news and
information from a social media site such as Facebook, YouTube or Snapchat”, on a four-
point Likertscale rangingfrom 1 = not atall closelyto 4 = very closely(mean = 2.57; SD:1.12).
Easiness of local news consumption. Respondents were asked how easy is it to stay
informed about “local crime”,“local government and politics”,“local weather”,“local arts
and culture, such as museums, concerts and theatre”,“local restaurants, night clubs and
bars”,“local traffic and transportation”,“local sport”,“local jobs and unemployment”,
“local community activities and gatherings, such as festivals and recreational clubs”,
“local schools, school events and students”and “changing prices for local goods and ser-
vices, such as gas, tolls and food”(11-item averaged scale, 1 = very hard to 4 = very easy;
Cronbach’sα= .88; mean = 3.27; SD = 0.43).
News interest. Respondents were asked how closely do they follow “international news”,
“national news”,“local news”,“news about your neighbourhood”(four-item averaged scale,
1 = not at all closely to 4 = very closely; Cronbach’sα= .75; mean = 3.01; SD = 0.64).
Statistical Analysis
The model constructed is based on a binomial logistic regression, analysing the probability
of paying for news as a dependent variable. Logistic regression tests the probability of a
dichotomous event occurring—in this case, paying or not for news. The predicted pro-
portion of activities follows the logistic model of ln P/(1−P
i
)=βX
i
, where P
i
is the prob-
ability of paying for news. The independent variables were introduced in four different
blocks: demographics, social and media antecedents, the variables of interest and the
interaction terms (see Table 1 for zero-order correlations).
Results
The first hypothesis (H1) proposed that the lower the readers’perceptions about the
financial state of local news media, the higher chances of paying for news. Table 2
shows that, consistent with H1, Readers that perceive that the financial situation of local
outlets is weak, are more likely to pay, subscribe, donate or becoming a member of a
local news service (β=−.527; e
x
= .590; p< .01). Older adults (β= .695; e
x
= 2.004; p
< .01), white non-Hispanics (β= .299; e
x
= 1.348; p< .01), with higher incomes (β= .165;
e
x
= 1,180; p< .01), attached to their local communities (β= .311; e
x
= 1.365; p< .01),
those who use social media for new local news consumption (β= .075; e
x
= 1.078; p
< .01), and interest in news (β= .685; e
x
= 1.983; p< .01), were also likely to say that they
have pay for news. Therefore, H1 is supported.
H2 predicted that citizens that perceive that journalist are personally engaged and
understand the history of their local community are more likely to pay, subscribe,
donate or becoming a member of a local news service. Consistent with H2, the analysis
reported a significant and positive association between the role of journalists in local com-
munities and readers paying behaviour (β= .183; e
x
= 1.201; p< .01). Therefore, H2 is sup-
ported. The third hypothesis stated a direct, positive association between citizens’content
creation and paying behaviour. Consistent with H3 citizens that create news content are
more likely to pay, subscribe, donate or becoming a member of a local news service (β
= .818; e
x
= 2.266; p< .01).
JOURNALISM STUDIES 9
Table 1. Zero order correlations.
Mean SD Age Income
Local
attachment
Social media use for local
news
News
interest
Easiness of local news
consumption
Financial
state
Journalist
role
Age 2.86 0.952 –
Income 5.72 2.269 .055** –
Local attachment 3.05 0.783 .228** .115** –
Social media use for news 2.42 1.127 −.257** −.103** .030** –
News interest 3.01 0.644 .331** .080** .321** .040** –
Easiness of local
consumption
3.27 0.435 .031** −.027** .212** .090** .271** –
Financial state 2.88 0.757 −.010 −.097** .059** .066** .116** .275** –
Journalist role 3.384 0.648 .064** .037** .186** .082** .244** .247** .152** –
10 M. GOYANES
Finally, three research questions were explored. RQ1 examines a possible interaction
effect of citizens’perception on the financial state of local outlets on age. Table 2
shows a negative, statistically significant interaction effect with age (β=−.093; e
x
= .911;
p< .05). Therefore, the relation between the perception on the financial state of local
outlets and readers paying behaviour is higher when age decreases (Figure 1). Put differ-
ently, those who report a lower perception on the financial state of local outlets (i.e., con-
sider them in a weak financial situation), and are older, are more likely to pay, subscribe,
donate or becoming a member of a local news service. According to Holbert and Park
(2019), nomenclature, the nature of the interaction effect follows a contributory, conver-
gent negative model.
Discussion and Conclusions
The free to fee transition has triggered a myriad of challenges for news organizations
worldwide. Readers’digital consumption patterns, the raise of social media use for
news and the growing difficulties of news organizations in monetizing digital contents
(Costera-Meijer and Groot-Kormelink 2015; Cawley 2019), has also deepen the financial
state of local, regional and national newspapers. Many news organizations have
responded to these challenges implementing paid content strategies based on business
models that ask readers to pay, increasingly relying in readers’economic transactions as
a crucial source of income (Goyanes 2014). This article explores how readers’perceptions
on the financial state of local news organizations, journalists’engagement with local com-
munities and readers’content creation practices affect readers’paying behaviour. Based
on a US representative sample from the Pew Research Center, the study offers three
inter-related contributions to this line of inquire, arguing that the psychology of readers
Table 2.Logistic regression analysis predicting readers’paying behaviour for local news services.
Readers’paying behaviour
βExp (β)
Block 1: Demographics
Age .695** 2.004
Gender (male) .076 1.079
Race (White non-Hispanic) .299** 1.348
Race (Black non-Hispanic) −.114 .893
Race (Hispanic) −.196 .822
Income .165** 1.180
Cox & Snell; Nagelkerke R
2
.103 .150
Block 2: Social and media antecedents
Local attachment .311** 1.365
Social use for news .075** 1.078
Interest in news .685** 1.983
Easiness of local consumption .038 1.038
Cox & Snell; Nagelkerke R
2
.129 .188
Block 3: Variables of interest
Perception on financial state of local outlets −.527** .590
Perception on journalist role .183** 1.201
Citizen content creation .818** 2.266
Cox & Snell; Nagelkerke R
2
.160 .233
Block 4: Interaction terms
Perceptions on financial state of local outlets * Age −.093* .911
Cox & Snell; Nagelkerke R
2
.160 .233
*p< 0.05, **p< 0.01.
JOURNALISM STUDIES 11
and the strategic specificities of local news organizations are crucial elements to under-
stand citizens’attitudes towards the potential economic value of news and the role of
local outlets in society.
First, results show that paying behaviour psychology is ultimately related to readers’
perceptions on the financial state of local news organizations. For many readers, local
newspapers are key to be informed about public affairs and politics, fostering also inte-
gration and a sense of belongingness (McCollough, Crowell, and Napoli 2017). These rel-
evant specificities of local outlets make them a fundamental source of information and a
crucial institution to connect communities with their local reality (Franklin and Richardson
2002), turning local outlets in an indispensable agent to structure many geographical
domains. As such, many readers may feel prone to contribute to their financial stability,
if they perceive local news organizations are in need, as previous marketing studies
suggest (Basil, Ridgway, and Basil 2008; Verhaert and Van den Poel 2011).
Results thus demonstrate the strong presence and incidence of local news outlets and
their connection with audiences, specifically when they are under economic constrains. In
general, most news readers are concerned about the financial stability of their local outlets
and as a result, they are inclined to contribute to their economic strength by means of sub-
scriptions or donations. These economic transactions, in the eye of audiences, are arguably
more preferable than the disappearance or bankruptcy of their fundamental source of
Figure 1. The figure shows the interaction term of age (moderator) on the relationship between
readers’perceptions on the financial state of local news organizations and probability to pay for
local news. Group differences in readers’perceptions on the financial state of local news organizations
and age are the mean and ±1 SD from the mean.
12 M. GOYANES
local news content. If local news organizations disappear or went bankruptcy, many
readers will lack fundamental information about their local communities, a scenario that
they prefer to avoid by paying for such services.
The study also contributes to the literature of the psychology of paying behaviour by
exploring the moderating role of age on the impact of readers’perceptions of local
news organizations financial state on paying behaviour. This study adds to previous litera-
ture by underscoring the dynamics of that relationship. Results demonstrate that the
relationship between readers’perceptions and paying behaviour is negative regardless
of age; and that older readers are more likely to pay for local news at both low and
high levels of readers’perceptions on the financial state of local newspapers.
In short, the results demonstrate older readers tend to be more prone to pay for local
news services, especially when they are concerned about the financial situation of local
outlets. This is arguably due to the long-standing relationship between local outlets and
audiences (Bew 2006; Barnett and Townend 2015), older readers’traditional news con-
sumption habits, and the role of local news organizations as fundamental source of
local information and local energizers, specially for older citizens (UNC 2018). In this
sense, it may be possible that older readers may be more dependent on the news pro-
vided by local organizations due to their potential isolation and their traditional consump-
tion habits. This weak position may push many readers to make an economic effort to
maintain their local news outlets and hence continuing their habitual news consumption
patterns. On the other hand, younger readers may be fully or superficially informed about
their local communities by social media use for news, and thus may feel that the specific
relevance of local news organizations to provide local information is sufficiently covered
by other alternative platforms. As a consequence, their concern on the financial situation
of local news organizations is weak, which in turn negatively affects their paying
behaviour.
Second, results show that journalists’engagement with their communities is a crucial
factor to increase readers’paying behaviour. Specifically, this perception or sense of
attachment between news-workers and audiences, trigger readers’economic transactions
in the form of subscriptions or donations. Therefore, as previous studies suggested (Bakker
and de Vreese 2011; Farnham et al. 2012; McCollough, Crowell, and Napoli 2017; Nah and
Yamamoto 2018), how journalists engage, understand and explore readers’communitar-
ian issues and challenges, affect readers’perceptions of their professional performance,
increasing, in turn, their paying behaviour for such services.
It is normal to think that a real connection and engagement between journalists and
their audiences will revert to product quality, as news-workers will produce more and
better news pieces in relation to the issues and demands of their local audiences. This
product quality is a basic condition to increase readers’paying behaviour, as former
studies suggest (Chen and Thorson 2019), and the prove of journalists’commitment
with the communities they serve. Therefore, a better economic performance of news
organizations first requires that all the involved agents, both in the production and con-
sumption of news contents, feel to some extend participant of the final product and
the histories that are daily reflected in the newspaper. If this preliminary condition is
not professionally met, many readers may feel disconnected form the potential contri-
bution of local newspapers in the structuration of local communities, decreasing their per-
ception on local outlets’social relevance and hence paying behaviour.
JOURNALISM STUDIES 13
Finally, the study explores the relationship between readers’content creation and
paying intent, showing a positive relation between both variables. Previous studies
have explored the potential connection between readers’content creation and attitudes
towards journalism. Specifically, this study contributes to previous efforts exploring how
readers relate to journalism practice and, in this case, their paying behaviour. In short,
readers’that have created local news content are more prone to pay for local news ser-
vices in the form of subscriptions, donations or memberships, which emphasize the con-
nection citizen journalism, professional journalism and paying behaviour. In conclusion,
the main theoretical implications emanating from the observations made in this article
include: (1) a reassessment of the crucial relevance of local news services and the psychol-
ogy of readers’news consumption in shaping their paying behaviour and (2) the key role
of age in negatively moderating readers’perception on the financial stability of local news
organizations and paying behaviour.
Limitations and Future Studies
This article has some limitations that should be addressed by future research. First, the cross-
sectional nature of the survey data doesn’t allow the study to identify with certainty the
direction of the causal patterns underlying the correlations found. Therefore, the study
cannot rule out the possibility that the causal orders are reversed. More robust causal
claims would be warranted by longitudinal or experimental rather than cross-sectional
survey data and more work is needed to disentangle the causal mechanisms behind the cor-
relations presented here. Thus, the relationships theorized in this paper should be inter-
preted with caution. Future research may adopt a longitudinal design to draw causal
inferences with greater confidence. Second, the dependent variable (customer paying
behaviour) includes three different modes readers’can contribute to the financial stability
of news organizations: subscription, donation and membership. The interpretation of
results should include these three typologies. Future studies may delimitate customers’
paying behaviour just to subscription based models, paying intent, or willingness to pay,
as previous studies have done (Goyanes 2015). Relatedly, the dependent variable does
not differentiate between online and offline local news, a fundamental aspect to understand
readers’economic evaluations, affecting also to the potential differences in readers’age and
paying behaviour. Future studies might also consider the implementation of qualitative
methodologies to understand readers’perception and attitudes towards the economic
value of online news, problematizing the main motivations behind paying behaviour.
Third, as the statistical inference came from a secondary analysis from the Pew Research
Center, the generation and modification of items were not possible at the survey design
stage. This circumstance has precluded the study to include as control variables relevant
factors that would make the analysis more robust, introducing controls like access to other
local news sources (local newspaper competition or the presence of community radio).
Fourth and finally, data for this study comes from a national survey (i.e., supra-regional),
and thus for the analysis of online local news organizations, the regional and local perspec-
tive would be empirically more accurate. Limitations aside this study contributes to the
stabilised literature by evidencing the psychology of readers’paying behaviour and the
moderating role of age in explaining readers’perceptions of local news organizations
financials state and readers’paying behaviour.
14 M. GOYANES
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.
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