• by Joe Mandese  @mp_joemandese, April 16, 2010

Contrary to conventional wisdom that newspaper print readership is sagging as news readers flock online, a study being released today suggests printed newspapers may be becoming even more vital by one important metric: the degree to which they are passed along from one reader to another. The study, an analysis readership and circulation data for 25 leading U.S. newspapers conducted by Scarborough Research and the Newspaper National Network, found that the number of readers-per-copy of a newspaper has actually been increasing, not decreasing in recent years.

Specifically, the study found that over the past three years, the number of readers-per-copy has risen 7.5%, to 3.30 adults in 2009 from 3.07 adults in 2007.

The finding is significant for several reasons. One obviously is that it shows that the average copy of a newspaper is getting more mileage as it is passed from one reader to another.

Another reason why it's significant, is that readers-per-copy is an important advertising metric, showing advertisers and agencies how much bang they got for each copy of a newspaper they paid for - and it's on the rise, not the decline.

"Readers?per?copy is especially important as newspapers compete for their share of a brand's media budget, particularly among national advertisers," states Gary Meo, senior vice president, print and digital media services, Scarborough Research. "More people are reading each printed copy, further enhancing the value of the newspaper as an advertising medium, and increasing exposure for advertisers."

Jason Klein, the president-CEO of the NNN says the finding also indicates that newspapers appear to be running their operations more efficiently, and are getting a higher return on their print operations by reaching more readers per single copy of their print editions, while at the same time, extending their reach via online readership.