Both print and broadcast news executives seem pessimistic about the future of their industry, according to a new survey from the Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism.

Some 353 news executives from the American Society of News Editors (ASNE) and the Radio Television Digital News Association (RTDNA) were polled in the survey, which was released Monday.

“America's news executives are hesitant about many of the alternative funding ideas being discussed for journalism today and are overwhelmingly skeptical about the prospect of government financing,” the report found.

But, it added: “Many news executives ... sense change for the better in their newsrooms today, despite cutbacks and declining revenue. Editors at newspaper-related companies praise the cultural shifts in their organizations, the younger tech-savvy staff, and a growing sense of experimentation. Many broadcast executives see so-called one-person crews-in which the same individual reports, produces and shoots video-as improving their journalism by getting more people on the street.”

Among the findings:

Many of the new revenue options being debated today receive only limited or divided support from news executives. When it comes to the often-discussed option of pay walls for online content, for instance, only 10% say they are working on them, though that could change. Another 32% are considering them and just 11% have written off the idea. More than a third (35%) have not even considered them at all. Still, as they look ahead, only 15% of news executives believe pay walls will be a significant source of revenue in three years.

There is significant resistance, however, to other discussed revenue streams, particularly from the government or from groups that engage in advocacy. Fully 75% of news executives have serious reservations about receiving government subsidies, and 78% have significant resistance to financing from interest groups. Roughly half have significant worries about funds from government tax credits and more than a third have significant doubts about private donations.