Online news services allow users to stay up-to-date with breaking news events from around the world. Many of these services offer a range of features that can make the news experience more engaging and interactive. Some of these features include embedding video into articles, infographics, and images that provide additional context to a story. Other services may also allow readers to share their opinions on stories through comments sections. These features can help to foster a sense of community and engagement amongst readers.
A growing number of traditional and niche publishers are experimenting with new subscription models for their news services. These strategies focus on encouraging those who are currently on the fence about paying for news to take the leap, either through longer trials, bundled multi-brand offers, non-news features like games and recipes or different packages of content including cut-down curated offers or replica e-editions at different price points.
The capacity for news brands to customize the news they serve to individual reader preferences is a significant shift from the atomization of print and broadcast news that was once the norm in many markets. Many journalists and social critics worry that widespread customization could lead to a news dystopia in which popular entertainment stories privilege the news that matters most to society.
Those who subscribe to paid news services tend to be a mix of individuals, organizations and businesses that value distinctive news and want the added benefit of convenience (e.g., Sky News in the UK), and people who see the benefit of having a strong, independent media that can hold politicians to account (e.g., the BBC in the UK and Norway). They often weigh up personal benefits such as convenience and value against perceived benefits to society such as a robust media holding politicians to account.