Here’s how many people leave a news article when asked to pay

Many major news outlets have had difficulty creating meaningful businesses through online subscriptions

Published: June 26, 2025 at 3:48 p.m. ET

News organizations are struggling to get people to pay for news, but most readers remain stubbornly unwilling to do so. Photo: Getty Images/iStock

It has been one of the most stubborn problems for the news industry — the internet enables it to reach audiences anywhere in the world, but few are willing to pay to read the news.

A new survey by the Pew Research Center has revealed that only 17% of people were willing to hand over their cash to pay for a subscription in the past year, with 83% just moving on when they have bumped into a paywall.