News Funding Crisis: Journalism, American Perceptions, And Valuing News vs. Actually Paying For It

It shouldn’t be surprising that 80% of Americans say they have a responsibility to be informed about the news when they vote, according to a recent Pew Research Center survey.

Nor should it be surprising that more than half (52%) of Americans feel worn out by the amount of news these days, according to the same survey and, well, if you pay any attention to the general state of the news these days.

No, as a former publisher myself, I thought the most surprising statistic from Pew’s research was that only 8% believe they have a responsibility to pay for news.

“How news is funded is central to the sustainability of journalism, yet most Americans do not see paying for it as their responsibility,” according to the Pew-Knight Initiative researchers. “Americans value being informed, but they feel a limited obligation to contribute financially to the system that produces the news.”

The researchers point to one possible explanation, as nearly half (45%) said advertising or sponsorships should be where news organizations make their money, followed by charging for subscriptions or memberships (11%), receiving funding from the government (10%), and receiving charitable donations (5%).

(Source: Pew Research Center)

“A quarter of Americans say they are not sure how news outlets should make money,” the researchers say. “Advertising revenue was the main source of revenue for daily newspapers, as well as most forms of television news, for much of the 20th century. But advertising revenue for the newspaper industry dropped dramatically in the last two decades and in recent years fell below circulation revenue for the first time in nearly 70 years of recorded data.”

And while that news shouldn’t come as a shock to publishers these days, there is one other percentage that might raise eyebrows: more than a third (34%) of those surveyed said news organizations are doing either very or extremely well financially.

“These perceptions may help explain why relatively few people feel a responsibility to pay for news,” the researchers say. “Many believe news organizations are at least somewhat stable financially, despite well-documented revenue declines in some parts of the industry.”