American Media Survey Shows Again That Local and Community News Is A Newspaper’s Biggest Draw

The Pew Research Center for the People and the Press in its newest telephone survey of 3,200 American newspaper readers reports that, as was the case in the mid 1980s,” roughly nine-in-ten of those who at least sometimes read a newspaper say they spend a significant amount of time getting the news about their city, town, or region.”

In a 1985 survey readers were not questioned on whether they looked at articles about health and medicine or about technology, mainly because there were so few of those newspaper articles in those days. But today, 77% said they spend some or even a lot of time reading about health and medicine and 63% said they read about technology. Articles about food, diet, and business have also become more popular.

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And what are readers spending less time on? Getting TV and movie information and schedules – could that just possibly be the forte of the Internet today? -- and also personal advice columns – plenty of that on the Internet, too.

A majority of American readers say they follow international events closely only when something important is happening, although 39% say they do follow international news closely. There also seems to be a trend that if the international news is bad then it gets followed less closely.

That last point is something that tracks in local news, too. People want to read the good news about their locale, just as they prefer the good international news. How many times have you heard someone complain, “How come newspapers report only the bad news?” There is more meat in that complaint than editors might otherwise believe.

And it seems Americans have had their fill of politicians Two years ago 24% of respondents said they followed news about politicians and events in Washington, D.C whereas this year that number was down to 17%. But two years ago was a Presidential election year, which could have been cause for a bump, but even at 24% it seems Americans care more about what is happening on their own doorstep.

One thing the Internet has done is give large newspapers a national reach. The survey said that more than 90% of print readers focus on their local newspaper, but that figure drops to 50% when reading online with the rest looking at the likes of the New York Times and other national newspapers.

Online blogs, incidentally aren’t really in favor. “Just 4% of Americans say they regularly read online blogs where people discuss news events, but that figure increases to 8% of those aged 18-24,” the survey said.

But while the percentage of young readers who read the news on the Internet has stabilized, that doesn’t mean they aren’t interested in other digital ways to get the news. “A significant number of young people (14%) say they get news via a cell phone, a personal digital assistant such as a PalmPilot or Blackberry, or an iPod or similar portable music player,” according to the report.

One bright spot that newspaper marketers might want to seize upon from the survey is that 57% of newspaper readers find reading a newspaper to be “relaxing”, more relaxing than any other news medium. Forty-four per cent of radio news consumers found that experience “relaxing”, for TV it was 41% and Internet news came dead last at 33%.

So, while newspapers are spending much of their times these days trying to cut costs (reduce paper width) and look for new revenues (advertisements on the front pages of most sections including in some cases A-1), this survey indicates that what they really need to do is to hire back all those local reporters they have fired over the past few years.

It is the local news that readers want, and they want it to be an enjoyable (relaxing) read. So, all those campaigns to get reader text and photo contributions are right on target, as are covering the town hall meetings and especially school activities. In most communities it is only the local newspaper that has the resources to go get the local news (radio and will rip and read from the newspaper, or at the least use the newspaper story as a lead for their own reporting which means the newspaper is well ahead, and TV has time limitations on how many local stories it can tell).

Local news is a niche that newspapers should really own, and their readers are telling them that’s exactly what they want them to do.

Comment on Content Shifting - August 3, 2006

ftm reader Kim Marcille, VP/New Initiatives with the Miami Herald Media Company, comments on Phil Stone's question about the shifting content interests.

Phil wrote: "And what are readers spending less time on? Getting TV and movie schedules - could that just be the forte of the Internet today?"

Kim said: "No. It's the live guides that cable and satellite services offer right on the television. Why go to another source when the one you're looking at has all the information you need?"

To which Phil added: "Kim has a good point, but I was thinking more of the trend started by the New York Times to cut out print TV listings for expanded listings on their web site.The real answer, I believe, is a combination of what Kim and I are saying."