• by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer @mp_research, June 27, 2004

North Central Newspaper Readers Read More Sports

In a comprehensive MediaMark Research study, completed in 2003, the section readership report is designed to address a range of strategic marketing questions that are often asked about targeting daily newspaper readers. Responses were collected to address issues such as the most-read section of the newspaper, the best place to target readers by occupation, male and female readership differences, married and singles reading Food section, likely readers for each section, and more.

Highlights:

• General News is the most widely read section among adult daily newspaper readers at 70%.
• After General News, men read the Sports section most (58%), while women (45%) read the Food/Cooking section most.
• Daily newspaper readers 35-44 are almost twice as likely as those 18-24 to read the Business/Finance section. (39% vs. 20%)
• Daily newspaper readers with Master's degrees are more likely to read the Movie Listings and Reviews section than those with high school diplomas (39% vs. 28%)
• After General News, the Business/Finance section (51%) is read most by daily newspaper readers with household incomes $75,000+. Likewise, the Editorial section is read most by daily readers with household incomes of $30,000 or less (38%).
• After General News, Classifieds and Sports are the most widely read sections among daily newspaper readers in technical/clerical/sales occupations (40%).
• Employed daily newspaper readers are more likely to read the Classified section than unemployed readers (39% vs. 30%).
• Daily newspaper readers who are married are more likely than those who are single to read the Editorial section (47% vs. 26%).
• Daily newspaper readers in the north central census region are more likely to read the Sports section than readers in other census regions.

Information in these tables provides a dimension of newspaper readership - exposure opportunities - that is critically important to advertisers. This data can show newspaper advertisers where their messages will have the highest likelihood of being read and acted upon by their target audience.

Sections Read/Gender

	Adults %	Men %	Women %
Business/Finance	40	47	32
Classified	36	36	35
Comics	34	35	33
Editorial Page	42	40	44
Fashion	17	8	27
Food/Cooking	31	18	45
General News	70	68	72
Home/Furnishings/Gardening	26	17	35
Movie Listings and Reviews	31	26	35
Science & Technology	22	26	18
Sports	43	58	27
Travel	25	23	26
TV/Radio Listings	31	29	32
Average Wkday Audience (000)	99,850	50,873	48,977

Source: Mediamark Research Inc., Spring 2003

Sections Read/Age

	18-24	25-34	35-44	45-54	55-64	65+
	(%)	(%)	(%)	(%)	(%)	(%)
Business/Finance	20	31	39	45	48	43
Classified	43	42	43	36	36	21
Comics	31	28	29	35	38	41
Editorial Page	17	25	34	44	55	61
Fashion	14	11	14	18	21	21
Food/Cooking	16	22	28	35	36	39
General News	56	59	69	72	79	76
Home/Furnishings/Garden	10	17	25	30	32	29
Movie Listings and Review	31	31	34	34	30	25
Science & Technology	15	18	21	28	28	19
Sports	40	38	43	45	45	44
Travel	15	20	23	29	29	26
TV/Radio Listings	20	18	23	30	35	47
Average WkDy Aud (000)	8,829	13,875	20,722	20,405	14,482	21,537

Source: Mediamark Research Inc., Spring 2003

Section Readership by Household Income Daily Newspaper Adults

	HHI	HHI	HHI	HHI	HHI
	$75K+	$50K+	$40K+	$30K+	<=$30K
	(%)	(%)	(%)	(%)	(%)
Business/Finance	51	47	46	44	24
Classified	31	35	35	35	37
Comics	32	34	34	34	35
Editorial Page	43	43	43	43	38
Fashion	19	18	18	17	16
Food/Cooking	32	32	32	32	30
General News	74	73	73	72	64
Home/Furnishings/Gardening	30	29	29	28	19
Movie Listings and Reviews	36	34	34	33	23
Science & Technology	29	27	26	25	13
Sports	48	47	46	45	35
Travel	33	30	29	28	14
TV/Radio Listings	28	28	29	30	33
Average WkDy Aud (000)	35,366	56,966	66,454	77,001	22,849

Source: Mediamark Research Inc., Spring 2003

Section Readership by Race Daily Newspaper Adults

	White	Black	Hispanic*
	(%)	(%)	(%)
Business/Finance	42	23	30
Classified	35	39	32
Comics	36	25	25
Editorial Page	46	26	27
Fashion	17	18	14
Food/Cooking	32	23	21
General News	73	52	54
Home/Furnishings/Gardening	26	16	17
Movie Listings and Reviews	31	26	27
Science & Technology	23	12	20
Sports	45	34	39
Travel	26	15	19
TV/Radio Listings	33	22	24
Average Weekday Audience (000)	42,069	5,037	6,820

*Defined as Hispanic origin or descent
Source: Mediamark Research Inc., Spring 2003