Digital subscriptions are critical to local news publishers’ bottom lines, but new findings suggest that an increasing number of these subscribers are “zombie” readers who seldom consume what they pay for, highlighting an unnerving trend among readers who remain unengaged even though they may still pay for local news.
Recent data analysis conducted by Northwestern University’s Medill Spiegel Research Center found that, on average, nearly half of local news outlets’ digital subscribers (49 percent) don’t visit the news sites they pay for even once a month.
An additional 54 percent said they visit the website of the news outlets they pay for only one day per month or fewer, 58 percent reported visiting two days a month or fewer, 69 percent visited seven days or fewer, and 79 percent visited 15 days or fewer.
The Medill Spiegel Research Center’s findings come on the heels of a viral Feb. report, which found that about 42 percent of The Arizona Republic’s digital-only subscribers didn't read a single article on the paper’s website in the last month. That Gannett property, which was founded in 1890, is the Grand Canyon State’s largest daily newspaper.
Sharing these findings via Twitter, CNN host Brian Stelter wrote, “I think I’ve lost the passwords for 42% of the digital outlets I subscribe to.”
Research for the Medill Spiegel Research Center study was based on data analysis of local news outlets in 45 U.S. markets.
Trump Media and Technology Group Corp. has replaced CEO and former California Congressman Devin Nunes with Kevin McGurn, a seasoned media sales executive.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette is being bought by the Venetoulis Institute for Local Journalism, a nonprofit that is the parent organization of the Baltimore Banner... The British Broadcasting Corporation is axing approximately 2,000 jobs, about 10 percent of its work force... Snap, the company behind Snapchat, is also succumbing to layoff fever, announcing plans to lay off 16 percent of its employees, about 1,000 people.
CBS News Radio will go off the air on May 22, part of the axe-swinging managerial plan put into play by CBS editor-in-chief Bari Weiss... The Economist, which was first published in 1843, is changing hands. Canadian billionaire Stephen Smith has agreed to acquire a 26.9 percent stake in the publication from Lady Lynn Forester de Rothschild, her family and family foundation... Nexstar Media Group says it has closed its acquisition of TEGNA, the broadcast, digital media and marketing services company that was formed in 2015, when the Gannett Company split into two publicly traded companies.
USA TODAY brings on Jamie Stockwell as VP of news, effective March 30. Stockwell was most recently deputy managing editor of news for the Washington Post... YouTube expands its likeness detection capabilities to a pilot group of government officials, journalists and political candidates... The AP Fund for Journalism adds 50 news organizations to its local news program, bringing the total number of participating newsrooms to 100. 
Versant Media Group, the NBCUniversal cable TV spin-off, today reported its first financial results as 2025 revenues dipped 5.3 percent to $6.7B and standalone EBITDA dropped 9.1 percent to $2.2B.
