• by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer @mp_research, June 10, 2009

Despite the global financial crisis, newspaper circulation grew 1.3% world-wide in 2008, according to a presentation by Gavin O'Reilly, President of the World Association of Newspapers and CEO of Independent News and Media, contradicting reports predicting the imminent death of newspapers, "...the printed audience, as a global industry, continues to grow."

This growth, according to O'Reilly, is taking place in the developing markets of the world and masks a continued downward trend in the developed markets. "...this doom and gloom... continues, with commentators... joining the chorus that the future is online, online, online, almost to the exclusion of everything else... (which) oversimplifies a rather complex issue."

According to the material presented at the World Association of Newspapers Power of Print Conference in Barcelona, Spain, 1.9 billion people read a paid daily newspaper every day. Newspapers reach 41% more adults than the world wide web. More adults read a newspaper every day than people eat a Big Mac every year.

O'Reilly continues, "... newspapers... achieve a global average reach of over one third of the world's population, (with)massive revenues."

The data shows:

• Global newspaper circulation increased +1.3% in 2008, to almost 540 million daily sales, and was up +8.8% over five years. When free dailies are added, circulation rose +1.62% in 2008 and +13% over five years.  Europe is the hotbed for free newspaper development: 23% of daily newspapers in Europe were free in 2008.
• Newspaper circulation increased +6.9% in Africa last year, +1.8% in South America, and +2.9% in Asia. It decreased -3.7% in North America, -2.5% in Australia and Oceania, and -1.8% in Europe. In many mature markets where circulation is declining, newspaper reach remains high --  many European countries continue to reach over 70% of the adult population with paid newspapers alone. In Japan, it's 91%. In North America, it's 62%.
• Circulation gains are not only occurring in the emerging markets of China and India; 38% of countries reported gains in 2008, and 58% saw circulation increase over five years.
• Though newspaper advertising revenues were down -5% in 2008, print media still takes 37% of world advertising revenues.
• While the digital explosion has a global impact, it is not a uniform impact. The United States and the United Kingdom are most affected; the UK accounts for 38% of digital revenues in all of Europe. And compared to all of Europe, the United States has 62% of the total market.
• In the United States, combined print and online newspaper audience grew 8%. 52% of online newspaper readers spend the same amount of time as they did previously with newspaper content, 35% say they spend more time overall with newspaper content, and 81% of online newspaper readers say they've read a printed newspaper in the same week.

Although falling newspaper circulations are routinely blamed on the internet, the evidence paints a more complex picture, said Mr O'Reilly. "... Is it just possible that the consumer is capable of multi-tasking... consuming a multitude of media... that... need not necessarily be just online? "

For more details about the Conference, please visit the World Association on Newspapers here.