The results of a new study from comScore show that non-newspaper readers in the US are likely to be younger than average online news consumers, while heavy newspaper readers are more likely than average to engage with traditional print news brands online.
Heavy print newspaper readers show a strong skew towards older age segments, while the non-newspaper reader segments skew younger. Those age 65 and older are nearly 3 times more likely than average to read the print edition of newspapers six times per week, while those age 18-24 are 38% more likely than average to not read a print newspaper at all during a typical week.
Several key points emerged from the study. First, those who do not read print versions of newspapers are not necessarily light news consumers. In fact, they show a high propensity to visit the majority of sites studies.
Secondly, both the heavy print newspaper readers and the non-readers show similarly heavy consumption of print news brands online, suggesting that print news sites are not merely an extension of their offline brands but have a stand-alone brand presence in the online world.
| Demographic Profile of Print Newspaper Reader Segments, Summer 2007, Total US – Persons 18+, Home/Work Locations |
| Age Demographic |
Composition Index |
| Heavy |
Medium |
Light |
Non-Readers |
| 18+ yrs old (Total Audience) |
100 |
100 |
100 |
100 |
| 18-24 yrs old |
31 |
80 |
139 |
138 |
| 25-34 yrs old |
51 |
87 |
106 |
127 |
| 35-44 yrs old |
73 |
110 |
107 |
109 |
| 45-54 yrs old |
116 |
123 |
90 |
76 |
| 55-64 yrs old |
186 |
100 |
80 |
71 |
| 65+ yrs old |
296 |
60 |
49 |
37 |
| *Composition Index = Percent of Newspaper Reader Segments/Percent of Internet Users x 100; Index of 100 represents parity. |
Jack Flanagan, executive vice president of comScore, said: “That current generations are growing up getting their news online for free is an indicator that print circulations are likely to continue their decline.
“But the Internet represents a significant opportunity to extend – and even improve upon – existing news brands and reach out to new consumers with living, breathing real-time content. Just because print circulations are declining does not mean there are fewer news consumers. In fact, just the opposite is true.”
Recent research from the Newspaper Association of America found that average monthly unique audience figures for US newspaper websites grew by more than 3.6 million in 2007, a year on year increase of more than 6% over 2006 numbers (see US Online Newspaper Viewership Reaches Record In 2007).
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