What kind of stories are best at turning local news readers into subscribers? It’s hard news, not the soft stuff

Hard news stories, focusing on local government, public health, and politics, are the most effective at converting readers into subscribers for local newspapers, according to a comprehensive study. This research analyzed over 1.2 billion user sessions and 600 million article visits across a four-year period, tracking reader behavior and paywall interactions. The findings challenge the conventional wisdom that entertainment and sports content drives the most engagement and subscription conversions. Gregory J. Martin of Stanford University, the lead author of the study, noted that while "soft" news generates high traffic, the willingness to pay for such content with dollars differs significantly from the willingness to pay with attention. The study's granular analysis of web traffic and user profiles provides unprecedented insights into reader behavior and the economic realities of local journalism, suggesting that while hard news attracts potential subscribers, it is not yet sufficient to cover production costs.