Drawing on a Spanish representative two-wave panel survey, this study examines the role predicting the intent for paying for news of (a) a culture of free mindset, and (b) pay for news injustice. Findings suggest that both variables negatively predict citizens’ intent to pay for public affairs information. Furthermore, the study also advances the moderating role of political interest on these effects, which increases the intentions to pay for news, particularly for those who report low levels of culture of free mindset and pay for news injustice.
AdachiP.WilloughbyT. (2015). Interpreting effect sizes when controlling for stability effects in longitudinal autoregressive models: Implications for psychological science. European Journal of Developmental Psychology, 12(1), 116–128. https://doi.org/10.1080/17405629.2014.963549
AjzenI. (2020). The theory of planned behavior: Frequently asked questions. Human Behavior and Emerging Technologies, 2(4), 314–324. https://doi.org/10.1002/hbe2.195
4.
AraujoT.WonnebergerA.NeijensP.de VreeseC. (2017). How much time do you spend online? Understanding and improving the accuracy of self-reported measures of internet use. Communication Methods and Measures, 11(3), 173–190.
5.
BeierN.MladenowA.StraussC. (2018). Paid Content–Eine empirische Untersuchung zu redaktionellen Sportinhalten [An empirical study on editorial sports content]. Tagungsband Multikonferenz Wirtschaftsinformatik (MKWI) Data driven X—Turning Data into Value, 1099–1110.
6.
BergkvistL.RossiterJ. R. (2007). The predictive validity of multiple-item versus single-item measures of the same constructs. Journal of Marketing Research, 44(2), 175–184. https://doi.org/10.1509/jmkr.44.2.175
7.
BergkvistL.RossiterJ. R. (2009). Tailor-made single-item measures of doubly concrete constructs. International Journal of Advertising, 28(4), 607–621. https://doi.org/10.2501/S0265048709200783
ChungD. S. (2008). Interactive features of online newspapers: Identifying patterns and predicting use of engaged readers. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 13(3), 658–679.
10.
ChyiH. I. (2005). Willingness to pay for online news: An empirical study on the viability of the subscription model. Journal of Media Economics, 18(2), 131–142.
11.
ChyiH. I. (2012). Paying for what? How much? And why (not)? Predictors of paying intent for multiplatform newspapers. International Journal on Media Management, 14(3), 227–250.
12.
ChyiH. I.LeeA. M. (2013). Online news consumption: A structural model linking preference, use, and paying intent. Digital Journalism, 1(2), 194–211.
13.
ChyiH. I.YangM. J. (2009). Is online news an inferior good? Examining the economic nature of online news among users. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, 86(3), 594–612. https://doi.org/10.1177/107769900908600309
14.
DahlR. (1971). Democracy and its critics. Yale University Press.
15.
DahlgrenP. M. (2019). Selective exposure to public service news over thirty years: The role of ideological leaning, party support, and political interest. The International Journal of Press/politics, 24(3), 293–314. https://doi.org/10.1177/1940161219836223
Delli CarpiniM. X.KeeterS. (1996). What Americans know about politics and why it matters. Yale University Press.
18.
de VreeseC. H.BoomgaardenH. (2006). News, political knowledge and participation: The differential effects of news media exposure on political knowledge and participation. Acta Politica, 41(4), 317–341. https://doi.org/10.1057/palgrave.ap.5500164
19.
DickmanS. L.HimmelsteinD. U.WoolhandlerS. (2017). Inequality and the health-care system in the USA. The Lancet, 389(10077), 1431–1441. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(17)30398-7
20.
DouW. (2004). Will internet users pay for online content?Journal of Advertising Research, 44(4), 349–359.
FletcherR.NielsenR. K. (2020). Are Netflix and Spotify subscribers more likely to pay for online news? Comparative analysis of data from six countries. International Journal of Communication, 14, 3439–3457. https://ijoc.org/index.php/ijoc/article/view/11402
23.
Gil de ZúñigaH.WeeksB.Ardèvol-AbreuA. (2017). Effects of the news-finds-me perception in communication: Social media use implications for news seeking and learning about politics. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 22(3), 105–123. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcc4.12185
24.
Gómez MontanoA. (2013). Pluralismo y reconocimiento social de los nuevos informativos de RTVE (20062012) [Pluralism and social recognition of new newscasts of RTVE (Spain, 2006–2012)]. Estudios Sobre el Mensaje Periodístico, 19, 233–242. https://doi.org/10.5209/rev_ESMP.2013.v19.42029
25.
GoodmanJ. S.BlumT. C. (1996). Assessing the non-random sampling effects of subject attrition in longitudinal research. Journal of Management, 22(4), 627–652. https://doi.org/10.1177/014920639602200405
26.
GoyanesM. (2013). Conductores de valor de la prensa digital con estrategias de pago por contenidos: Análisis de caso del Financial Times, The Times y El Mundo en Orbyt [Value drivers of the digital press with pay per content strategies: A case analysis of the financial times, the times and the world in orbyt].. Palabra Clave, 16(3), 873–910.
27.
GoyanesM. (2014). An empirical study of factors that influence the willingness to pay for online news. Journalism Practice, 8(6), 742–757. https://doi.org/10.1080/17512786.2014.882056
28.
GoyanesM. (2020). Why do citizens pay for online political news and public affairs? Socio-psychological antecedents of local news paying behaviour. Journalism Studies, 21(4), 547–563.
29.
GoyanesM.ArteroJ. P.ZapataL. (2021). The effects of news authorship, exclusiveness and media type in readers’ paying intent for online news: An experimental study. Journalism, 22(7), 1720–1738. https://doi.org/10.1177/1464884918820741
30.
GoyanesM.DemeterM. (2020). Effects of media companies’ organizational nature and journalists autonomy and position on internal and external influences: Evidence from Spain. International Journal of Communication, 14, 22.
31.
GoyanesM.DemeterM.de GradoL. (2022). The culture of free: Construct explication and democratic ramifications for readers’ willingness to pay for public affairs news. Journalism, 23, 207–223.
32.
GoyanesM.DürrenbergC. (2014). A taxonomy of newspapers based on multi-platform and paid content strategies: Evidences from Spain. International Journal on Media Management, 16(1), 27–45. https://doi.org/10.1080/14241277.2014.900498
33.
GoyanesM.ScheffauerR.GilDeZúñigaH. (2023). News distribution and sustainable journalism: Effects of social media news use and media skepticism on citizens’ paying behavior. Mass Communication and Society, 26(5), 878–901. https://doi.org/10.1080/15205436.2023.2169164
34.
GuzaviciusA.GižienėV.ŽalgirytėL. (2015). Education as public good: Behavioral economics approach. Procedia—Social and Behavioral Sciences, 191, 884–889. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2015.04.401
35.
HaenschenK. (2020). Self-reported versus digitally recorded: Measuring political activity on Facebook. Social Science Computer Review, 38(5), 567–583. https://doi.org/10.1177/0894439318813586
36.
HayesA. F. (2018). Partial, conditional, and moderated mediation: Quantification, inference, and interpretation. Communication Monographs, 85(1), 4–40. https://doi.org/10.1080/03637751.2017.1352100
37.
HuckfeldtR.PietrykaM. T.ReillyJ. (2014). Noise, bias, and expertise in political communication networks. Social Networks, 36, 110–121. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socnet.2013.02.003
38.
JereM.BorainR. (2018). Willing seller, unwilling buyer: Factors influencing intention to pay for online news in South Africa. In Proceedings of the 2018 Annual Conference of the Emerging Markets Conference Board(pp. 97–106). Johannesburg: University of Witwatersrand, Wits Business School.
39.
LeeF. L. F.ChanM.ChenH.-T. (2023). Paying for online news as political consumption in Hong Kong. Digital Journalism. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/21670811.2022.2163412
40.
LopesA. B.GallettaD. F. (2006). Consumer perceptions and willingness to pay for intrinsically motivated online content. Journal of Management Information Systems, 23(2), 203–231. https://www.jstor.org/stable/40398847
41.
MartensB.AguiarL.Gomez-HerreraE.Müller-LangerF. (2018). The digital transformation of news media and the rise. Seville, Spain: European Commission.
42.
MateoR.de BergésL.GarnatxeA. (2010). Crisis, what crisis? The media: Business and journalism in times of crisis. tripleC: Communication, Capitalism & Critique. Open Access Journal for a Global Sustainable Information Society, 8(2), 251–274. https://doi.org/10.31269/triplec.v8i2.212
43.
McDowellW. S. (2011). The brand management crisis facing the business of journalism. The International Journal on Media Management, 13(1), 37–51.
44.
Monsalve-AlamáA.Ortigosa-BlanchA.Sánchez-GarcíaJ. (2023). The evolution of the media discourse on the implementation of media companies’ new digital business models. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 190, 122415. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2023.122415
NewmanN.FletcherR.RobertsonC. T.EddyK.NielsenR. K. (2022). Reuters Institute digital news report 2022. Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism.
48.
NewmanN.FletcherR.SchulzA.AndiS.RobertsonC. T.NielsenR. K. (2021). Reuters Institute digital news report 2021. Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism.
49.
O’BrienD. (2022). Free lunch for all?—A path analysis on free mentality, paying intent and media budget for digital journalism. Journal of Media Economics, 34(1), 29–61. https://doi.org/10.1080/08997764.2022.2060241
50.
O’BrienD.WellbrockC.-M.KleerN. (2020). Content for free? Drivers of past payment, paying intent and willingness to pay for. Digital Journalism—A Systematic Literature Review. Digital Journalism, 8(5), 643–672. https://doi.org/10.1080/21670811.2020.1770112
51.
OJD Auditoría medios comunicación [OJD Media Audit]. (2023). Buscador de Publicaciones « OJD. https://www.ojd.es/buscador/
52.
PicardR. G. (2016). Funding Digital Journalism: The challenges of consumers and the economic value of news. In S. A. Eldridge II, & B. Franklin (Eds.), The Routledge companion to digital journalism studies (pp. 146–154 ). Routledge.
53.
PickardV.WilliamsA. T. (2014). Salvation or folly? The promises and perils of digital paywalls. Digital Journalism, 2(2), 195–213.
54.
PoindexterP. (2008). Trouble in the news media landscape. In P. Poindexter, S. Meraz, & A. Schmitz Weiss (Eds.), Women, men, and news: Divided and disconnected in the news media landscape (pp. 3–18). Routledge.
55.
RothD. L.MacKinnonD. P. (2012). Mediation analysis with longitudinal data. In NewsomJ.JonesR. N.HoferS. M. (Eds.), Longitudinal data analysis: A practical guide for researchers in aging, health, and social sciences (pp. 181–216). Routledge.
56.
ScharkowM. (2016). The accuracy of self-reported internet use—A validation study using client log data. Communication Methods and Measures, 10(1), 13–27.
SikorskiC.HeissR.MatthesJ. (2020). How political scandals affect the electorate. Tracing the eroding and spillover effects of scandals with a panel study. Political Psychology, 41(3), 549–568. https://doi.org/10.1111/pops.12638
59.
StierS.BreuerJ.SiegersP.ThorsonK. (2020). Integrating survey data and digital trace data: Key issues in developing an emerging field. In Social science computer review, 38(5), 503–516. Sage.
60.
StrömbäckJ.Djerf-PierreM.ShehataA. (2013). The dynamics of political interest and news media consumption: A longitudinal perspective. International Journal of Public Opinion Research, 25(4), 414–435. https://doi.org/10.1093/ijpor/eds018
61.
StrömbäckJ.ShehataA. (2010). Media malaise or a virtuous circle? Exploring the causal relationships between news media exposure, political news attention and political interest. European Journal of Political Research, 49(5), 575–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1475-6765.2009.01913.x
ValenzuelaS.HalpernD.AranedaF. (2022). A downward spiral? A panel study of misinformation and media trust in Chile. The International Journal of Press/Politics, 27(2), 353–373.
64.
Vara-MiguelA.Sánchez-BlancoC.Sádaba ChalezquerC.NegredoS. (2021). Funding sustainable online news: Sources of revenue in digital-native and traditional media in Spain. Sustainability, 13(20), Article 20. https://doi.org/10.3390/su132011328
65.
Wahl-JorgensenK.WilliamsA.SambrookR.HarrisJ.Garcia-BlancoI.DencikL.CushionS.CarterC.AllanS. (2016). The future of journalism. Digital Journalism, 4(7), 809–815. https://doi.org/10.1080/21670811.2016.1199469
66.
WangJ. (2009). New media technology and new business models: Speculations on “post-advertising” paradigms. Media International Australia, 133(1), 110–119.
67.
WeeksB. E.LaneD. S.HahnL. B. (2022). Online incidental exposure to news can minimize interest-based political knowledge gaps: Evidence from two US elections. The International Journal of Press/politics, 27(1), 243–262.
68.
WurffR. (2012). The economics of online journalism. In EugeniaS.AndreasV. (Eds.), The handbook of global online journalism (1st ed., pp. 231–250). Wiley-Blackwell.
69.
YangJ. M.ChyiH. I. (2011). Competing with whom? Where? And why (not)? an empirical study of U.S. online newspapers’ competition dynamics. Journal of Media Business Studies, 8(4), 59–74. https://doi.org/10.1080/16522354.2011.11073531
70.
YeL. R.ZhangY.NguyenD.-D.ChiuJ. (2004). Fee-based online services: Exploring consumers’ willingness to pay. Journal of International Technology and Information Management, 13(1), 12.
71.
YuL.ChenZ.YaoP.LiuH. (2021). A study on the factors influencing users’ online knowledge paying-behavior based on the UTAUT model. Journal of Theoretical and Applied Electronic Commerce Research, 16(5), Article 5. https://doi.org/10.3390/jtaer16050099
