A survey from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University says 71% of most local news consumers in Chicago would prefer not to pay anything for news.
The survey was conducted in a part of Chicago with high readership and strong interest in local issues. While focused on one small market, the study does reveal consumer attitudes and why it is difficult for newspapers with paywalls to compete against TV station websites offering free access to content in exchange for high advert volume.
On the other hand: The Medill survey comes at the same time many newspaper brands are claiming a trend of rising subscription rates.
