Research by the Reuters Institute suggests 2021 will be a big year for publishers looking for subscription support.

In an INMA post, Auckland University of Technology senior lecturer and co-director of the Journalism, Media, and Democracy Research Centre Merja Myllylahti says media companies worldwide are focusing on reader revenue models, with 'driving digital subscriptions' rated important or very important for more than three quarters (76 per cent) of the 234 sampled publishers, followed by display and native advertising.

The million-up digital subscribers milestone was recently passed by USA Today publisher Gannett, which says it hopes to have ten million subscribers in five years' time.

Class leader the New York Times reported passing seven million paid subscribers last November, of which six million were paying for a digital product, meaning digital subscriber revenue has now surpassed print.

UK trade publication Press Gazette says other newspapers in or close to passing one million include the Washington Post (more than three million digital subscribers) and News Corp's the Wall Street Journal (around 2.4 million), while the Financial Times has 945,000 and News Corp in Australia is quoted at 685,000 subscriptions. With no paywall as such, the The Guardian (pictured) reports more than a million subscribers or contributors, of which 900,000 are paying voluntarily.

Myllylahti asks whether the million-up "party" will continue, and what that means for national, regional, and local newspapers.

Reuters warns that 2021 is "likely to be a tough time to hold on to cash-strapped customers increasingly looking for diversion and entertainment".

"While this is a concern, the pandemic is far from over, and people continue to need facts and information about it, among other things," she says.