• by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer @mp_research, July 17, 2007

Four Out of Five Newspaper Website Readers Also Read the Printed Edition

A new study recently released by the Newspaper National Network LP, conducted by Scarborough Research, found that 81% of newspaper website users also read the printed newspaper in the last 7 days. Crossover users (those who used both print and online newspapers in the past 7 days) have deep affinity with both their printed newspaper and their newspaper website, and 83% say "I love both my printed newspaper and visiting my newspapers website." Crossover users visit their newspaper website to:

• Access breaking news (96%),
• Find articles seen previously (85%)
• Find things to do/places to go (72%)

Jason E. Klein, President and CEO of Newspaper National Network, said "The study shows that the core newspaper reader now accesses his or her local newspaper across multiple formats, print and web, and is deeply engaged with both... 83% of crossover users say their newspaper site will be among their primary destinations 5 years from now."

The study found that newspaper website-only users are 55% female, while crossover users are only 48% female. The main reasons newspaper website-only users cited for using newspaper websites include:

• Accessing local news (84%)
• Entertainment information (74%)
• Food or restaurant information (58%)

Newspaper website-only users are web-savvy group as 52% write or read blogs and 46% have joined a web community.

The two segments differ in the time of day they are using newspapers:

• Crossover users are more likely to read their printed newspaper in the morning (63% read the printed newspaper before 10am) and access their newspaper website in the afternoon or evening (46%).
• Newspaper website only users are more likely to access the website in the morning (49% of website-only users access the website before 10am vs. 34% of crossover users).

Contrary to some perceptions, the web has not hurt overall newspaper consumption, as 87% of crossover users report that their time spent with newspaper media has increased or remained the same versus only 12% who say time spent has decreased.

Other key Study findings:

The last time you read or looked into any printed copy of the (Newspaper Name):

• Read last 7 days: 81%
• Read 8-30 days ago: 9%
• Read longer than 30 days ago: 7%
• Never Read: 3%

Combined Time Spent With Print And Web-Based Newspaper Media Since You Began Using A Newspaper Website

• 52% remained the same
• 35% increased
• 12% decreased
• 1% Don't Know

For more information, please visit here to find  the NNN Newspaper Footprint Study.