How digital paywalls shape news coverage.

ABSTRACT: The internet has significantly transformed how news is produced, consumed, and distributed. As a result, the news industry has transitioned from ad-supported to subscription-based models regulated by digital paywalls. In the light of this disruption, it is crucial to investigate not only how news consumers adapt to this change but also how economic incentives shape content coverage. We analyzed the staggered adoption of digital paywalls by 17 regional US newspapers over 17 years in a difference-in-difference framework to examine the impact of paywall adoption on topical news content coverage. Our results reveal a small but significant decrease in local and soft news coverage, with varying effects across different urban contexts. Specifically, local news coverage experienced a more substant

SUBMITTER: Dhillon PS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11773399 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature