Medill’s Spiegel Research Center (SRC), a leader in consumer and audience-based research that drives financial outcomes, is analyzing many terabytes of anonymous data about reader behavior and customer motivation at three Learning Labs – the Chicago Tribune, San Francisco Chronicle and Indianapolis Star. The goal: Identify what content and behaviors drive consumers to engage with and pay for local news.
What Drives People to Pay for Local Journalism
Latest Research
What Drives People to Pay for Local Journalism
Nearly Half of Digital Subscribers Are ‘Zombies,’ Medill Analysis Finds
Nearly half of local news outlets’ digital subscribers are “zombie” readers who visit the website less than once a month, according to a data analysis ...
What Drives People to Pay for Local Journalism
What We’ve Learned About News Consumer Behavior: 5 Videos
Northwestern University’s Spiegel Research Center is conducting groundbreaking research using large data sets on consumer behavior. Spiegel’s study of 13 terabytes of data from the ...
What Drives People to Pay for Local Journalism
Readers With Ad Blockers More Likely to Keep Subscriptions, Medill Study Finds Research on ‘Advertising Disengagement’ Suggests News Websites May Need to Change Ad Strategy to Keep Readers Paying
An analysis of subscriber behavior data by Northwestern University’s Spiegel Research Center has found that a news organization’s customers who use an ad blocker are ...
What Drives People to Pay for Local Journalism
Medill’s Small-Markets Study Reinforces Importance of Creating Reader Habit
A Northwestern University data analysis last year on three big-city news outlets showed that a regular reader habit and strong coverage of local news were ...
What Drives People to Pay for Local Journalism
Medill Study Identifies ‘Paradigm Shift’ in How Local News Serves Readers Building Habit—Not Page Views—Matters Most For Keeping Subscribers, Data Analysis Finds
As online advertising lags, many local news organizations are shifting their strategy to focus on reader-based revenue models, especially digital subscriptions, as a path to ...
What Drives People to Pay for Local Journalism
Medill’s Subscriber Data Analysis: How We Reached Conclusions
The Spiegel Research Center at Northwestern University analyzed 13 terabytes of data from the Chicago Tribune, San Francisco Chronicle and Indianapolis Star for its study, which was conducted ...
What Drives People to Pay for Local Journalism
3 Takeaways on Medill’s Subscriber Data Analysis
As local news outlets find their advertising model faltering, earning revenue from readers has emerged as a more promising path to sustainability. That’s why a ...
What Drives People to Pay for Local Journalism
A Paradox Emerges: Why Aren’t Avid Readers More Likely to Keep Subscriptions?
When Northwestern University researchers analyzed subscriber data from three major metro news outlets, they identified coverage areas and reader behaviors that correlated with customers keeping ...
What Drives People to Pay for Local Journalism
3 Leading News Organizations Serve as ‘Learning Labs’ for Local News Initiative Projects Chicago Tribune, San Francisco Chronicle and Indianapolis Star aim for insights and digital subscribers
Three leading U.S. news organizations are serving as “learning labs” for Northwestern University’s Local News Initiative, a project to harness data and other research tools ...
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