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Friday, May 3, 2002
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Study: Newspapers Top Online Source for Local News
People who read online newspapers tend to be Internet
"power users," spending more time and money online than general
Web users, according to a new report from the Newspaper
Association of America (NAA). Results of the study, conducted by
MORI Research of Minneapolis, were released during the
Association's 2002 Annual Convention, being held April 28-May 1
at the Hilton New Orleans Riverside.
The NAA's report also found that newspaper websites also
were rated the number one source of
local news and information online, beating out other local
media sites and national brands such as Yahoo!. In addition,
the longer someone has been an online user, the more likely
he is to turn to online newspapers for news and information.
"Rather than becoming the replacement for its print version,
as so many predicted it would be, the Internet has afforded
newspapers a unique opportunity to leverage the news and
information -- and the interested audience -- into a new
medium," said NAA President and CEO John F. Sturm. "Like their
print counterparts, online newspapers deliver the content
their readers want, and by extension, the quality audience
that advertisers seek."
Some of the study's findings:
- Newspaper websites are the top choice for local news and information,
beating out other local media sites and such national brands as Yahoo!.
Among all Internet users surveyed, 62 percent of those looking for
local news turned to an online newspaper. Also, the longer someone has
been online, the more likely that person is to log on to an online
newspaper for news and entertainment.
- Online newspaper users are "power users." Sixty-four percent of online
newspaper users have been plugged in for more than four years, compared
to 41 percent of general Internet users. Online newspaper users also
are more likely to have high-speed connections at home (37 percent vs.
25 percent) and at work (49 percent vs. 17 percent).
- Printed local newspapers are the leading source of local advertising
for both general Internet users (48 percent) and online newspaper
readers (28 percent). Online newspaper readers report that after the
print edition, the newspaper's website is their choice for local
advertising information, beating out television, radio, shoppers and
giveaways, and the Yellow Pages.
- Online newspaper users are more affluent and tend to be better educated
than general Internet users, making them an attractive demographic for
advertisers. About 25 percent of online newspaper users report incomes
over $100,000, compared to 17 percent of all online users; 51 percent
of online newspaper users are college graduates, compared to 42 percent
of general users.
- Newspaper online users are more avid online shoppers, and tend to spend
more than general Internet users. Nearly eight in 10 online newspaper
readers purchased merchandise online in the past six months, compared
to about half of general users. Online newspaper users also reported
spending more money online, with about half spending more than $500 in
the past six months.
- Print-newspaper readership among Internet users mirrors that of the
general population. Some 75 percent of all online users said they'd
read a weekday print newspaper in the past week, compared to 74.5
percent of adults in the top 50 U.S. markets, according to NAA's Spring
2002 Competitive Media Index.
- Online newspaper users are considerably more likely than general
Internet users to turn to the Internet every day for national and world
news (61 percent vs. 21 percent), local news (54 percent versus 13
percent), and sports scores and information (24 percent vs. 9 percent).
The report is available online at NAA's The Digital Edge.
The study was conducted in two parts. One was a national
telephone survey of 2,000 online consumers, who were
interviewed between Jan. 29 and Feb. 23. Results for the
second part were drawn from 12,429 completed pop-up
questionnaires that appeared on the websites of eight
newspapers from Feb. 5 through Feb. 23.
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