Local newspapers in the US attract 19% of local internet readership with eMarketer revealing that they hold the top spot among the city’s online readers for internet newspaper sites.
The analyst showed that
The Washington Post managed to reach about 30% of its local market, followed closely by the
Boston Globe at 28.3% and the
Atlanta Journal Constitution with 26.4%.
Nationally, the New York Times, USA Today and the Washington Post captured the greatest number of internet users, according to eMarketer.
The online newspaper industry is growing in strength, and is forecast to increase its presence in the market, with previous research from eMarketer, predicting revenues to increase to $2.26 billion in 2008, up from $1.03 billion in 2004 (see Online Newspaper Industry Forecast To Enjoy Strong Gains).
Online news is now seen as commonplace, and is increasingly being used as an information source. A survey earlier in the year by Merrill Brown for the Carnegie Corporation revealed that the US population is shifting to the internet as their primary source of news (see Internet Becoming Primary News Source In US).
Findings from Jupiter Research confirms this migration to the internet, showing that, in 2005, some 26% of adults claim to prefer to get their news online, compared to just under 20% in 2001.
However, despite figures indicating online newspapers’ strength, the World Association of Newspapers (WAN) recently revealed that global newspaper sales enjoyed an overall rise of 2% in circulation growth in 2004 and a 5% increase in advertising growth (see Global Newspaper Sales Up 2% In 2004).
Currently over 395 million people buy a newspaper daily, compared to 374 million in 1999. Last year a 2% increase in daily newspaper circulation was reported, with a record 56 broadsheets shifting to tabloid size, resulting in 36% of the world’s newspapers being published in compact format, up by 2% in the last six months.
In the UK, however, the compact revolution has failed to halt overall circulation declines, with sales of British newspapers dropping by 4.5% in 2004 and more than 11% since 2000.
The Guardian is the latest publication to follow the down-sizing trend, launching its new Berliner style format earlier this month and enjoying a 40% increase in sales in its first days on the newsstand.
However, a report published at the beginning of the year by The McKinsey Quarterly warns that the compact switch has not had the success that publishers had hoped for, with increases in circulation figures disguising the sector’s increasing struggle with advertisers (see Tabloid Format May Not Deliver Success).
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