Online newspapers are increasing in popularity, with more than a fifth of internet users who read newspapers now relying primarily on web editions, according to research from Nielsen//NetRatings.
The findings showed that a significant 21% of web users who read newspapers have transferred their readership to online counterparts, while 72% of online users who consume newspapers primarily still access print editions. Just 7% of newspaper readers were found to spilt their time reading between print and online.
Commenting on the study, Gerry Davidson, senior media analyst at Nielsen//NetRatings said: “A significant percentage of newspaper readers have transferred their preference from print to online.”
Davidson continued: “Accordingly many online editions now feature original content and have developed an online strategy that includes online message boards and editorial blogs, which leverage the medium’s strengths of interactivity and immediacy.”
Nielsen//NetRatings revealed that a greater proportion of readers accessing their newspapers primarily online are male, at 53%. This compares to 47% of online readers being female. In contrast, women make up 57% of those who read newspapers primarily in print.
NYTimes.com was shown to lead the top five online newspapers, with an audience of 11.3 million unique visitors during May 2005, followed by USAToday.com with 9.2 million readers and WashingtonPost.com with 7.4 million.
Davidson added: “Not surprisingly, the top online newspapers tend to be located in metropolitan cities where both population and broadband access rates are higher, which correlates with greater web page consumption.”
The online newspaper industry is growing in strength, with a recent study done by Nielsen//NetRatings for the Newspaper Association of America, showing online newspaper reading to be up by 31% year on year in March (see US Online Newspaper Industry Continues To Grow).
This findings confirm a recent survey done by Merrill Brown for the Carnegie Corporation, showing that online news sources are dramatically increasing in popularity, with the US population increasingly shifting to the internet as their primary source of news (see Internet Becoming Primary News Source In US).
Recent research from JupiterResearch confirms this migration to the internet, finding that, in 2005, some 26% of adults claim to prefer to get their news online, compared to just under 20% in 2001.
Related Links
