s postDigital subscriptions for some of the largest national newspapers are rising dramatically, as more traditional metrics like ad revenue and circulation continue to decline.
The New York Times saw a 47% year-over-year rise in digital subscriptions with 500,000 more in 2016, the Wall Street Journal added more than 150,000 digital subscriptions, and the Chicago Tribune added about 100,000 in weekday digital circulation, a 76% year-over-year gain, according to new reports from Pew Research Center.
The digital subscription metrics are a bright spot as the overall newspaper industry saw the 28th consecutive year of declines in total weekday circulation. Will digital subscriptions become the new top metric for publishers?
In our #MetricShift chat on Friday, June 23, we’ll discuss the metrics of subscriptions amid the fall of traditional circulation and the rise of digital.
The chat, which you can find by searching for #MetricShift on Twitter, will be moderated by Tim Cigelske, associate editor of metrics at MediaShift; Andrew Dunn, Editor-in-Chief of Charlotte Agenda; Wanda Cash, professor and associate director, UT School of Journalism, retired; Jason Alcorn, MediaShift.org metrics section editor and nonprofit news consultant, and more to come.
A Storify recap is posted below: