South Africa, March 28 -- Digital news media have explored various means to replace declining advertising revenue. These include Subscription Models, Membership Programs, Sponsored Content, Affiliate Marketing, Events and Experiences, Data Monetisation, Grants and Donations, and Micropayments.

Paywalls have become a popular revenue model. Their effectiveness varies across regions and publications. While some publications are experiencing great success, most are struggling to convert free readers to paid subscriptions.

Since the early days of the internet, free access to news has been the norm, making paid or subscription models much more difficult to implement. Only 16% of Americans pay for digital news subscriptions, compared to 22% wh...