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From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Almost four years after The Times blocked free access to most of its website with a paywall, 70 per cent of the public would “not consider” paying for digital news content, according to YouGov research commissioned by the London Press Club.
And yet, in the same survey, a group of more than 400 “opinion former” news junkies were far more positive about paying. Some 37 per cent of this group had made some kind of financial transaction for digital news in the past year (compared with 9 per cent of the wider public).
The YouGov survey offers pointers to the kind of content that is more likely to survive behind a paywall. An impressive 8 per cent of the public said they would pay for expert opinion, 6 per cent for sport and 6 per cent for local news. Among the niche of “opinion formers”, 34 per cent would pay for investigative journalism. There must be a viable business here.
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