The Local News Angle

Experiments on Public Support for Local Newspapers

Andrew Trexler
Duke University
Jennifer Gaudette
UC San Diego


MPSA
April 2025
Josh McCrain
University of Utah

What We Know

Attracting Demand


Our Studies

  • What narrative appeals can attract demand and financial support?
  • Who finds which narratives most attractive?
  • Conjoint experiment testing many appeals
  • Field experiment testing top performers

Conjoint Experiment

Experimental Design

  • Choose between two offers for a subscription
    • Substantive appeal
    • Firm type
    • Coverage focus
    • Subscription price
  • Completed choice task 7 times between random pairs

Community Benefits

Appeal Text
Preserve Resource “Our industry is in jeopardy. Due to rising costs, independent local papers like ours are disappearing across the country. Help preserve this community resource.”
Public Utility “Like having a public fire department and local parks, we all benefit from the presence of a vibrant local news outlet in our community.”
Government Watchdog “Local papers like ours serve as a faithful watchdog keeping a sharp eye out for corruption, abuse, and neglect by those in power that otherwise might never come to light.”
Power the Newsroom “Power our newsroom. Your subscription is a direct investment in our newsroom, helping us hire more reporters to cover pressing community issues.”
Community Connectivity “Connect with your community. Our newspaper helps the local community stay connected by keeping readers up to date on what’s happening.”
By & For Locals “By our community, for our community. We’re committed to amplifying the voices and concerns of our neighbors.”

Individual Benefits

Appeal Text
Special Access “Proven benefits. With access to expert journalists, award-winning coverage, and subscriber exclusives, you’ll enjoy benefits that you can’t get anywhere else.”
Restaurants & HS Football “Stay connected. Keep up with what’s happening in your community—everything from your high school football team to the best new restaurants in town.”
Nonpartisan Source “A non-partisan, trusted source. Tired of the political bias in national news? We’ll give you just the facts on issues that matter to you.”
Same Price as Netflix “For about the same price as a streaming service, you can get in-depth coverage about what’s going on in your community.”
Know Your Officials “Do you know the names of your local elected officials? Local news can inform you about who represents your community, creating a more engaged and empowered citizenry.”
Ad Free News “Your local news, ad free. Your subscription allows us to give you the local news that matters, without ads.”
Escape Polarization “Truth over ideology. Escape the polarizing rhetoric of national media outlets by supporting your local paper.”

Information

Appeal Text
Newspaper Closures “Over 1 in 5 American newspapers have closed since 2004 because of changing market conditions, leaving many communities without a dedicated source of local news.”
Polarizing Alternatives “In the absence of a local newspaper, people often turn to social media and cable news for information, which research shows tends to polarize the public.”
Salutary Effects “Research shows that communities with newspapers have better financial health, are more prepared for natural disasters, and build better infrastructure to support future generations.”
More Complete Picture “Research shows that people who get their news from social media think they are better informed than they really are. Get a more complete picture with our local paper.”
Most Original Reporting “Local newspapers do most of the original reporting that other outlets like local TV and radio stations rely on to get information to the public.”

Newspaper Features


Firm Type
    • (Unspecified)
    • Locally owned
    • Nonprofit
    • Independent
    • Publicly funded
    • Taxpayer supported
Coverage Focus
    • (Unspecified)
    • Local
    • Local & State
    • Local & National
Price
    • $5 per month
    • $10 per month
    • $15 per month

Decision Task

Sample

  • Fielded in August 2024
  • 2284 respondents recruited on Lucid Theorem
  • Removed 102 for low quality
  • Analysis sample n = 2182
  • Decision task observations n = 30,548

Few Pay for Subscriptions

Results

Newspaper Features

Subscription Appeals

Current vs. New Customers?

Current vs. New Customers?

Field Experiment

Experimental Design

  • Partnered with CT Mirror
  • Email fundraising campaign in December
  • Randomized appeal content
    • Default content
    • Watchdog emphasis
    • Community emphasis
    • Nonpartisan emphasis
    • Polarization emphasis

Experimental Design


Subject Line Email Text (Excerpt)
Give a CT Mirror Membership “Along with exclusive member benefits like early access to events, the Publisher’s report and even CT Mirror swag…”
Give the gift of supporting CT Mirror’s watchdog journalism “Journalism like ours serves as a critical government watchdog by looking out for corruption, abuses of power, and community neglect that otherwise might not come to light…”
Give the gift of community connection with a CT Mirror Membership “Help your friends and family get more engaged with what’s happening across our state…”
Give the gift of trusted, nonpartisan news: a CT Mirror Membership “Nonpartisan journalism like ours gives readers information on issues across Connecticut through reporting they know they can trust…”

Experimental Design

  • Audiences
    • Existing subscribers
    • With/without recurring gifts
  • Outcomes
    • Email open rate
    • Donation click rate

Results

Email Open Rate

Donation Click Rate

Caveats

  • Post-election timing
  • Existing subscribers
  • Limits to mapping to actual coverage

Thank you!


Special thanks to the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, which generously supported this research.


Contact:

Andrew Trexler
Duke University
atrexler.com

Jennifer Gaudette
UC San Diego
jennifercgaudette.com

Josh McCrain
University of Utah
joshuamccrain.com

Appendix

Political Engagement