Creating news experiences people will pay for: Ryan Nakashima

By Christi Warren

With digital ad revenue at a standstill for some news organizations, it’s becoming increasingly clear that media groups should focus their business models on earning the trust of their readers and developing subscriptions rather than clicks.

At the Bay Area News Group, where Ryan Nakashima works as the product manager for digital subscriptions, they are using data to monitor what news stories convert readers into subscribers. Nakashima spoke at the 10^th Data & AI for Media Week at Microsoft in San Francisco on May 2.

Part of that work involves using enhanced location tagging to surface news more relevant to readers who live in areas impacted by it.

With special projects that have lasting impacts, Bay Area News Group now puts those archived behind paywalls. Providing exclusive content, like the special reports, for subscribers only is one way to convert readers into subscribers, he said. Other options he sees as being valuable to readers include: ad-free content, commenting privileges, and location-aware news recommendations.