New survey data from the NAA and Nielsen shows that the overall “quality” (income, education, etc.) of online newspaper audiences is higher than the Internet generally. With the headline, “Newspaper Web site audience growing at nearly twice the rate of overall online audience,” the NAA put out a release yesterday:
The audience for newspaper Web sites is growing at nearly twice the rate of the overall online audience, according to new data released today by the Newspaper Association of America. An average of more than 59 million people (37.6 percent of all active Internet users) visited newspaper Web sites each month during the first quarter…
Findings from the survey:
- Nearly 12 percent (11.9 percent) of those who have visited a newspaper Web site have annual household incomes in excess of $150,000 compared with less than one in 10 (9.3 percent) of the overall Internet audience.
- Nearly nine in 10 (88.1 percent) newspaper Web site visitors have made a purchase online in the last six months compared with 78.9 percent of the overall Internet audience.
- Four in 10 (41 percent) newspaper Web site visitors are employed in professional or managerial occupations compared with one in three (32.7 percent) of the overall Internet population.
- Nearly 73 percent (72.6 percent) of newspaper Web site visitors go online every day compared with 57.8 percent of the Internet population as a whole.
- Nearly 42 percent (41.8 percent) of those who have visited newspaper Web sites have viewed streaming video on their computers in the last 30 days compared with 27.4 percent of the overall Internet audience.
- More newspaper Web site visitors read blogs in the past month than the overall Internet population (28.4 percent vs. 16.7 percent).
- Nearly three in 10 (28.9 percent) newspaper Web site visitors have sought out or posted a product review online in the past month compared with 16.1 percent of the overall internet population.
These facts have been established and “out there” for some time. But there’s still a disconnect between this information and the general perception of newspapers as “old media” among some marketers and Internet professionals.
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Courtsey of PaidContent, here’s a chart that offers a historical view of newspaper site growth, reach, etc. (since 7/04).
Related: Free daily paper BostonNow (via MarketingVox) has started to reverse publish blogs into print. (Then what you’re talking about is a column.) 🙂
Screenwerk 