• by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer @mp_research, April 8, 2005

According to the The Media Audit, local newspapers have the leading websites in 74 of the 81 metropolitan markets regularly surveyed. TV station websites have the largest audience in five markets and websites operated by a combination of TV station and local newspaper lead in two markets.

Bob Jordan, president of International Demographics, Inc, says “Newspapers still dominate as they did the last time we assembled this data in 2001 but beyond that the picture has changed substantially.”

In 2001, 30 daily newspapers and four TV stations had attracted to their websites more than 20 percent of the adults in their immediate market. “Today, 55 newspapers and seven TV stations attract 20 percent or more of the adults in their markets,” says Jordan.

For several years The Media Audit data has shown the Washington Post to have the most successful “local” newspaper website among the markets surveyed.  Jordan says “The Post is still number one with a rating of 40.5 percent,” but now WRAL-TV, serving the Raleigh-Durham market, has succeeded in attracting 39.0 percent of the adults in its immediate market to its website.

“WRAL-TV, KUSA-TV in Denver, KXAS-TV in Dallas, KTHV-TV in Little Rock and some others make it clear that newspapers are not going to ‘automatically’ dominate any market. We still believe that content is the primary draw of a website but we can’t ignore the marketing pull of TV. If a newspaper promotes its website only in its newspaper, we believe, an aggressive TV station website can draw a larger adult audience.” Continues Jordan

In some markets where newspaper websites lead, a local TV station is running a very close second. In Columbia, SC, The State newspaper website attracts 22.0 percent of adults but WIS-TV draws 21.2. The Detroit News website leads with 16.9 but WDIV-TV attracts 16.1 percent. 

Of the 898 websites surveyed (newspapers, alternative news weeklies and TV) in the current report, 236 attracted 10 percent or more of the adults in their immediate market. Of the 236, 117 were TV stations. Only one newsweekly, The Austin Chronicle, attracted 10 percent or more.

You can find out more here.