• Washington Post, Tuesday, April 4, 2006 11:01 AM

The Newspaper Association of America, citing a couple of brand-new studies, says that newspaper readers aren't defecting, they're simply moving on to new sources of news, chiefly what's available on the Net. Obviously, the readers most susceptible to the new medium are those whom newspapers most want--the young ‘uns.  "According to NAA data culled from more than 100 newspapers in most major metropolitan markets, unique visitors to newspaper Web sites rose 21 percent from January to December last year," reports The Washington Post. "Younger demographic groups reading online editions helped local newspapers extend their reach beyond the print market by 14 percent among 25- to 34-year-olds and 9 percent among 18- to 24-year-olds."  The other piece of positive news revealed in the new studies is that online advertising is growing at a clip so rapid that newspapers will in some instances have trouble figuring out how to invest the new revenues.  As one newspaper industry observer advises, managers should realize right away that the best place to invest those monies is in the edit product.

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