Newspaper Sites Gain Audience

Print lives, although according to the spring 2006 Newspaper Audience Database (NADbase) report from the Newspaper Association of America, newspaper Web sites saw considerable growth in 2005.

One in three Internet users visit newspaper Web sites at least once per month. That’s 55 million visitors to online sites compared with the 116 million who pick up a paper edition over the course of a week.

“All newspapers are pretty aggressive, from “The New York Times” down to smaller papers. “The Naples Daily News” launched Webcasts, creating local TV news on their site,” said Randy Bennett, VP of audience and new business development at the Newspaper Association of America. “I think it’s having an impact on growing their online audience.”

In 2005, unique visitors to newspaper’s online sites increased 21 percent. In the same time period, page views went up 43 percent. The report also found newspaper Web sites increased the total newspaper audience. Counted in the increase is a 14 percent rise in the 25 to 34 year-old demographic, and nine percent more readers in the 18 to 24 year-old age group.

“[Newspapers] are starting to pick up audiences that may not have been totally engaged in the first place, that’s particularly relevant in the younger demographic that may not have been picking up the print paper,” said Bennett.

The NADbase aggregates its newspaper Web site data from Nielsen//NetRatings for the 100-plus newspapers represented in most major markets. Print data are from Media Ratings Council-accredited Scarborough Research.

Top Newspapers With Expanded 25-34 Demographic Reach, Spring 2006
Newspaper	Percent Increase
The Deseret Morning News (Salt Lake City)	48.9
Daily Herald (Arlington Heights, Ill.)	46.3
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review	42.8
The Tampa Tribune	36.7
The Boston Globe	30.8
The Hartford (Conn.) Courant	29.7
The Star-Ledger (Newark)	26.8
The San Diego Union-Tribune	26.0
The Salt Lake Tribune	25.6
The Seattle Times	25.1
Note: Percentage increase of total newspaper readers in a week (five weekdays/one Sunday) to total newspaper readers and Web site users (five weekdays/one Sunday and used Web site in past 30 days).
Source: Newspaper Association of America, 2006