• by Erik Sass  @eriksass1, December 11, 2006

The results of a study released today by the Newspaper National Network suggest that women ages 25-54 turn to the print editions of newspapers more than any other media for information about food. The finding is good news for newspapers as they struggle to redefine their print presence, giving them a lock on the key decision-makers for household purchases such as groceries.

According to Jason E. Klein, president and CEO of NNN, 53% of women identify the weekly food section of their newspaper as their primary source of information about food. And the stats keep getting better: 88% said they are interested in food recipes from the newspaper's food section, and 81% in preparation tips. Some 93% use recipes from the food section.

Suggesting a high degree of engagement, 66% say they save recipes from the food section, and 71% say they pay special attention to ads there.

Finally, 65% of respondents say they look at the food section before they go shopping. A majority of respondents also ranked their newspaper's weekly food section as less "cluttered" than other media, such as women's magazines, according to Klein.

Overall, these findings seem to mirror a similar affinity of men for newspapers' sports sections as their source of sports information.

According to Klein, 36% of male sports enthusiasts ages 18-34 say they visited newspapers more than any other print news source, versus 26% for second-place Sports Illustrated. Meanwhile, 56% say they find sports news in newspapers that they "can't find anywhere else."

Newspapers also lead other media in terms of ad clutter, presenting a relatively clean experience free of distractions and message interference: 37% of respondents say newspapers are the least cluttered medium, versus 25% for the Web, 16% for TV, and 8% for magazines.