David Bauder

A battered news industry can find some flickers of hope in a survey that gauges public willingness to pay for journalism, as long as its leaders plan judiciously. A little more than half of American adults regularly pay for news, through newspaper and magazine subscriptions, apps on electronic devices or contributions to public media, according to the Media Insight Project, a collaboration between the American Press Institute and The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. It’s not only greybeards, either. Although they’re less likely than their parents’ generation to subscribe, close to 4 in 10 people under age...

Growing digital outlets are bringing “a sense of momentum” to the news business even as long-term problems continue to plague the industry, a journalism think tank said on Wednesday. The Pew Research Center’s annual state of the news media report illustrates the rapid changes in the business and in consumer habits. Pew pointed to growing staffs at news sites like BuzzFeed and Mashable, and the development of Vox.com behind former Washington Post journalist Ezra Klein, as positive developments. Also, several digital organizations such as Huffington Post and Vice Media are pumping more money into international coverage. More than their...