Nearly one-sixth of Canadians pay for online news

A Reuters study shows that of those subscribers, 10% of Canadians opt for local media, while 43% choose foreign media.

Subscriptions to news media have been increasing since 2014, according to a new Reuters global study, which found that 13% of all market respondents subscribed to some form of news media this year. In Canada, 15% say they pay for online news, with about 10% subscribing to local media, and 43% subscribing to foreign media.

Many subscribers do not pay full price for access to news. In Canada, 54% pay less than the full price for their subscription. One of the primary reasons many do not pay full price is because many news organizations provide discounts. According to Reuters, several news organizations have found this to be an effective technique for increasing their subscriber base.

Across all markets, around four in ten (40%) say they trust most news most of the time, the same percentage as last year’s report. Finland remains the country with the highest levels of trust (69%), while Greece and Hungary (23%) have the lowest levels. At just 39%, Canadians do not trust the news as much as those living in Denmark (57%) and Portugal (56%).

When it comes to which media respondents tend to consume, they prefer those that are transparent and open (72%), have high journalistic standards (69%), whose sources represent people fairly (65%), are unbiased (61%), and share their values (56%).

The research, conducted by YouGov, was based on an online questionnaire conducted in late January and early February and included 2,014 Canadians of varying age, gender, and region.