I asked my kids this question last week. And I got three different answers.
One of my kids said “Absolutely. I do pay for several news apps and I like them a lot.”
One of my kids said “It depends on the user interface. I really like Pocket and do most of my news reading in that app.”
And one of my kids said “No way. News should be free. I get all of the news I need online for free.”
I have asked a number of other millennials this question this past week and got a similar set of responses.
The “no way” answer was stronger with the men. The “absolutely” answer was stronger with the women.
The answer that interests me the most is the user interface issue. I like to read in a mobile browser on my phone. I can follow links most easily that way. And I can share links most easily that way. And reading news is, for me, an interactive and social experience. I really like sharing links and getting shared links. So I want a least common denominator user experience that most easily facilitates that.
But I know a lot of people who use “read later” apps like Pocket and Instapaper. Clearly the user experience question looms large in the news business.
And there is also the question of what is news. Almost everyone told me that they value “long form news content” but not “headlines.” And so it is not surprising that we see news organizations like The New York Times and Washington Post investing more in long form content.
I am curious how the AVC community thinks about paying for news.
