"The flagship Minnesota Star Tribune saw almost 18 million visits in January, which is about 10 million more than December and a 138% increase, according to data Nieman Lab drew from Similarweb. That's "about double" the Star Tribune's usual traffic in January, vice president for communications and brand marketing Chris Iles told me. "The only time we've seen more traffic was in 2020 when we lifted paywalls during the pandemic and murder of George Floyd," he said."
"The Star Tribune didn't lift its paywall entirely this time, but it did launch an unpaywalled live blog "as a form of public service journalism," and allowed subscribers unlimited gift articles. The live blog was the newspaper's top traffic driver in January, Iles said, and that month's total gifted articles was double the 2025 monthly average. Its second most-read story identified the first of two American citizens killed by federal agents, and its third most-read story reported that the ICE agent who shot Renee Good had been dragged by a car in an earlier incident."
"While the live blog was free to access, it may also have played a role in converting new subscribers; "we found that the live blog was a top touchpoint among subscribers that joined in January," Iles said. The Star Tribune "nearly doubled" its subscription rate in January compared to the 2025 monthly average; 78% of those were annual subscriptions."
"The Star Tribune and its in-house agency Foundry North went on to launch a brand campaign, " Because the world is watching." The campaign positioned the Star Tribune "not just as a news source fo"
Minneapolis became a focal point for a federal immigration crackdown, and Minnesota news organizations reported on a global story. The Minnesota Star Tribune received nearly 18 million visits in January, about double its usual January traffic, with a 138% increase over December. It did not remove its paywall entirely, but launched an unpaywalled live blog as public service journalism and allowed subscribers unlimited gift articles. The live blog became the top traffic driver, and gifted articles doubled the 2025 monthly average. The paper’s most read stories included reports about American citizens killed by federal agents and details about an ICE agent involved in Renee Good’s shooting. The live blog also served as a key touchpoint for new subscribers, and the subscription rate nearly doubled, with most new subscriptions being annual. The Star Tribune and Foundry North later launched a campaign positioning the paper as a news source for a world watching.
#federal-immigration-crackdown #media-traffic-and-subscriptions #live-blogging #paywall-strategy #minnesota-journalism
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