Motivations for Paying for Local News, National News, and Both Subscriptions

This study surveyed American news subscribers ( N = 497) across three groups: local-only, national-only, and those who pay for both. We compared their demographics, motivations, attitudes, and behaviors. Local-only subscribers showed stronger community attachment and news habit strength. National subscribers tended to be younger, more educated, and more inclined to support journalism, motivated by quality information, and to use news for social signaling. These findings extend media economics scholarship and offer practical implications for how newsrooms market subscriptions.