News Subscriptions Should Be Subsidized

When a reader subscribes to a news outlet, they gain access to more than novel information and ideas—they join a dialogue. In this way, media subscriptions are essential to being an informed, active member of the community. One might even say they’re a civic right. Yet media subscriptions are a luxury in this country. In the past year, just 17 percent of Americans paid or donated to read the news, according to a Pew survey published in June. The people who do pay for access to news are sharply delineated by class: 8 percent of individuals with lower incomes pay for subscriptions, compared with 30 percent of upper-income individuals.