Digital media
By the end of 2010, all the traditional print media already had a web version, offering free access from that time. In 2013 a digital media tried to venture into a magazine model in PDF format, but it was not functional.
The top rank of the most visited digital media in the country is constantly disputed between the digital native Soy502 and the web version of Prensa Libre. With a reading average of 2:10 and 3:30 minutes respectively, the web measurement portal Alexa places these two media among the ten most visited sites in the country, followed by Publinews (n 8), Chapin TV, the web version of the channels of Ángel González (n 9) and Emisoras Unidas (n 10) among others.
Unlike traditional print media, the most visited digital media generate the highest amount of traffic from a middle-level socioeconomic stratum, attracted by news related to entertainment, soccer and viral videos. The most visits come from mobile devices and from Facebook. The population that consumes the most news online is between 25 and 34 years old (they represent 28 percent of the visitors of the Prensa Libre website). It is important to note that migrants in the United States can represent, on average, a fifth of the traffic of these websites.
The business models of digital media are based on the number of visits they manage to attract and the advertising paid directly by the advertisers. There is no public data regarding how much revenue each corporation receives. In traditional media, printed advertisement continues to be the highest income compared to web versions: A full-page ad has an average value of US$2,500 to US$3,000. A main banner on a website has an average cost of US$2,400.
Unlike print media, some digital native media reduced their dependence on the sale of advertising to private companies, and replaced it with the management of projects with international entities that finance their journalistic production. Such digital media work under the legal framework of a private company, like Ojo con Mi Pisto - focused on the supervision of local governments and attracting international donations - or as an annex to a bigger institution, like Plaza Pública - characterised by its in-depth reports and that works as an annex of Universidad Rafael Landivar.
Nómada on the other hand is a sample of a mixed model that combines cooperation and advertising. This mix of income has allowed these media to include issues related to the rights of minority groups, human rights and the environment on their agenda, topics that, due to their dynamics, may cause conflicts of interest with potential advertisers.