Betalingsvilje for nyheter i et digitalt medielandskap : en kvalitativ studie av unge voksnes holdninger til betaling for norske aviser

This is a master thesis about young adults willingsness to pay for news "behind the wall". From the mid-1990s, a decline in both news consumption and the willingness to pay, have caused concern in the media industry. A study conducted in 2016 shows that only 32 percent of Norwegians between the ages of 20 and 29 currently pay for a newspaper or online news. Publishers of newspapers are now working to create sustainable business models for their digital products. Attracting young readers is an important part of this process. Increasing user payment is important to make sure that young adults are informed about important social and political issues. The purpose of this thesis is to explore the willingsness to pay for newspapers among young adults in Norway by answering the following question: Why are young newspaper readers rarely willing to pay? The collected data consists of qualitative interviews with eight young adults between the ages of 25 and 29. To analyze findings from the interviews, previous research and theories about the newspapers' strategies, democracy, media habits, price and quality are used. Reading newspapers are also seen in connection with the use of other technologies such as social media and streaming of music and movies. The main findings show that young adults think it’s important to stay updated on the latest events online, but this need can to a large extent be satisfied by content that is available for free on the Internet. Possible reasons for low willingness to pay may also be linked to the lack of willingness to spend time on editorial content. With an extensive media offer, competition for consumer attention also increases. The young adults that have been interviewed are willing to pay for entertainment. In the analysis there are also indications that digital services like Netflix and Spotify affect expectations for both price and design of digital news services. Based on this, it may indicate that young adults today have become consumers, more than citizens, when they consume news online.