New research brings a critical media-consumption dilemma to the forefront—according to a new study from open journalism platform The News Hub, consumers in the UK want their online news to be free at the point of consumption, and they expect journalists to be rewarded for the great content they create.
The survey, conducted by polling expert Toluna, found near-unanimous support for online news to be free, with 96% agreeing there should be no charges to access news websites. Four people in five (80%) also agreed that journalists should be paid for great content they produce.
Despite journalists contending with newspaper closures and cutbacks, consumers of news are optimistic about the impact of technology and the Internet on the news industry. Nearly three quarters (73%) of respondents agreed the unprecedented number of ways to access, consume and create news heralded a ‘golden age’ for journalism and journalists.
“Around the world, traditional news organizations are grappling with the challenge of making online news profitable,” said William Stolerman, founder of The News Hub, in a news release. “Some publishers have put up paywalls with varying degrees of success; others hope online advertising will meet the prohibitive cost of running news teams. We firmly believe this is an exciting time for the news industry.”
The survey was conducted for The News Hub by Toluna using its innovative QuickSurveys platform. A representative sample of 1,005 UK adults aged 18+ took part in the online survey from August 21 to August 23, 2015.
Source: Business Wire; edited by Richard Carufel
