Broadband Preferred Over Newspapers During US Presidential Elections

The nation-wide post-election survey revealed that the proportion of those using online political news sources grew dramatically from 18% of the US population to 29% in 2004, an increase of 11%.

There was also a striking increase in the number of respondents who cited the internet as one of their primary sources of news about the presidential campaign, with 18% of registered voters saying the internet was a primary source of political news, rising by 7% from 2000.

The newspaper industry in the US is predicted to be hit in 2005 by advertisers shifting their advertising to online media, with analysts Merrill Lynch estimating that online adspend over the next 12 months will rise by 19% year on year.

A recent survey of 15 national advertisers by Merrill Lynch, highlighted their increasing reluctance to pay higher advertisement rates for newspapers, given the declining circulation trends. National advertising produced an estimated 18% of newspaper advertising revenues in 2004, according to the analysts (see US Shifts To Online Advertising).

However, thanks to a strong January, which saw US newspaper advertising increase by an estimated 4%, Merrill predicts a slow but steady year on year rise of around 4% for 2005 (see Merrill Predicts Rise In Newspaper Advertising). A recent report by PricewaterhouseCoopers confirms this opinion, acknowledging the potential for an increase in revenue and profit levels within the UK newspaper industry (see Newspaper Industry Predicted To Strengthen).

Last year, a report published by the World Association of Newspapers said that newspaper publishers needed to be more imaginative and attuned to the demands of the new generation of media consumers if they are to profit from the increasing use of digital media (see Newspapers Need To Be ‘Cleverer’ To Profit From Digital Content).