Commentary

Newspaper Websites Reach Key Demographics With High Quality Journalism

According to the Newspaper Association of America (NAA), between 2005 and 2009 newspapers' total print ad revenues dropped 47.7% from $47.4 billion to $24.8 billion, while their online revenues edged up from $2.02 billion to $2.73 billion over the same period.

In the last year's fourth quarter, newspaper websites drew an average monthly audience of 105.3 million unique visitors, 62% of all adult Internet users. Newspaper websites continue to attract key demographics, reaching 58% of 25-to-34-year-olds and 73% of individuals in households earning more than $100,000 a year on average throughout the quarter, shows the analysis performed by comScore for the Newspaper Association of America.

The findings also pointed toward audience engagement, with newspaper website visitors generating an average of 4.1 billion page views each month, spending nearly 3.4 billion minutes browsing the sites.

NAA President and CEO John F. Sturm, says "Newspaper websites stand out in today's online environment, with trusted brands and high-quality journalism attracting an impressive audience that sets them apart from other players in the digital space... digital is at the forefront of a multiplatform transition that has seen steady growth in online advertising revenue... "

Figures released by NAA in early December indicate that online advertising generated $690 million for newspapers in last year's third quarter, a nearly 11% increase from the same period a year earlier.

Online Newspaper Advertising (4th Quarter, 2010)

 

Month Unique Visitors (000) 18+

% Reach

Total Minutes (MM)

Total Pages Viewed (MM)

October

105,250

61.8%

3,238

3,992

November

106,270

62.9

3,416

4,180

December

103,903

61.3

3,496

4,126

Q4 Average

105,291

62.0

33,83

4,099

Source: comScore, January 2011

And, the latest data from Scarborough Research shows that more than 71% of adults, or 165.6 million people, read a newspaper in print or online in the last week. The latest data, considered a currency measurement in the media planning and buying community, indicates that newspapers continue to attract consumers with buying power, with 80% of adults in households earning $100,000 or more reading a newspaper in print or online each week.

The Scarborough report indicates that newspapers continue to attract highly educated consumers who are ready to shop and spend. In an average week:

  • 85% of adults who have done post-graduate work or who have advanced degrees read a print newspaper or visited a newspaper website
  • 81% of women in a management or professional position with a household income of $100,000 a year or more read a newspaper in print or online; 73% read the print product
  • 76% of adults who spent more than $500 on fine jewelry in the last year read a newspaper in print or online
  • 80% of adults who spent $500 or more on business clothing, the figure is
  • 77% for those who spent more than $500 on women's shoes read a newspaper in print or online

Full-time working women who shop read newspapers in large numbers. A high percentage of those who bought at the following stores in the last 30 days read a newspaper in print or online last week:

  • JC Penney (75%)
  • Lord & Taylor (87%)
  • Macy's (77%)
  • Nieman Marcus (76%)
  • Nordstrom (78%)
  • Kohl's (76%)
  • Target (75%)
  • TJ Maxx (76%)
  • Wal-Mart (74%)

Sturm concludes that "... while the way readers access newspaper content continues to evolve, one thing has remained remarkably consistent: Dollar for dollar, newspapers offer unmatched value to advertisers by attracting a powerful consumer audience that no other medium can match... "

For more information about the comScore report, please visit here, and to see the Scarborough study data, please visit here.

 

4 comments about "Newspaper Websites Reach Key Demographics With High Quality Journalism".
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  1. Jay Oconner from World Colours Network Inc., February 9, 2011 at 8:50 a.m.

    Can that revenue be recoverd or exceeded by using Product Placement in Newspaper Websites? Join the WCN Social Publishers Alliance to find out how on Linkedin. http://www.linkedin.com/groupRegistration?gid=3773117

    WCNTV THE BRANDCASTING PARTNER www.wcntv.tv

  2. Andrew Koven from Steve Madden, February 9, 2011 at 8:55 a.m.

    Great article - thanks for posting -

    AK

  3. Heather Wirtz from Mudd Advertising, February 9, 2011 at 1:51 p.m.

    This is a great article and I enjoy the research briefs the most. One word that triggered a question for me is "newspapers" online.

    When conducting this research, is it specifically newspapers online, or NEWS online? With the growth of online video consumption and immediate news coverage, is there any research being conducted with local TV news stations online too?

    Are there comparisons or studies on which is the preferred source for local online news coverage? How do newspapers and tv stations rate against each other online for audience reach?

    Personally, I find myself going to station news online, I tend to lean toward the one with the video reporting as well.

    Media buyers struggle when clients want banners on news sites because their analytic reporting is so vague and there is not way to measure which site is more popular based on demo or geographic location.

    Thoughts?

  4. Jerry Foster from Energraphics, February 10, 2011 at 6:40 a.m.

    Part of what I see as an "improvement" in journalism is that the newspapers are allowing public comments more and more that at least politely differ from the author's biases (or if there's another extant frame of reference and or a lack of perspective).

    Back in the day, critical letters to the editor rarely saw the light of day unless it was over a fake issue that was "allowed" to be debatable.

    I tend to learn as much from the comments as I do from any given article online.

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