Highlights: The Year in Review
Newspapers remain one of the most relied-upon mediums for news and information, and continue to innovate and expand the ways in which they reach consumers. In addition to the traditional printed product, newspapers are delivering content through various channels including the Internet, mobile devices and niche publications. Newspapers benefited from improvement in the overall economy in 2003 as advertising expenditures returned to positive territory.
- Nearly eight in 10 adults (78.6 percent) in the top 50 U.S. markets read a newspaper during the course of a week, according to the spring 2004 Competitive Media Index.
- More than half of all adults (53.4 percent) in the top 50 markets read a daily newspaper every weekday, and more than six in 10 (62 percent) read one each Sunday.
- Newspaper advertising expenditures for 2003 totaled $44.9 billion.
- Overall newspaper ad spending increased 1.9 percent in 2003.
- Retail ad spending was $21.3 billion. Classified expenditures totaled $15.8 billion and national was $7.8 billion.
- Newspapers’ share of $44.9 billion of advertising spending gave the industry an estimated 18.3 percent of all ad expenditures in 2003.
- Nationally, more than 54 million newspapers are sold daily, with an average of 2.3 readers per copy. On Sunday more than 58 million newspapers are sold with an average of 2.4 readers per copy.
- In a recent survey, registered voters ranked newspapers as the most credible medium for political advertisements.
- Of voters who cast ballots in the 2000 and 2002 elections, one out of two say they read a newspaper every day and 70 percent say they read a newspaper at least several times per week.
- In addition, visitors to newspaper Web sites exhibit a greater interest in politics and are more likely to be active participants in the political process than the general Internet users. They are 29 percent more likely to identify themselves as “very interested” in government, politics and elections; 41 percent more likely to have attended a political meeting, rally or dinner; 39 percent more likely to have worked for a political candidate or party; and 36 percent more likely to have donated money to a political campaign or party.
- More than 1,500 daily newspapers in North America have sites on the World Wide Web. Many of them can be accessed through links on newsvoyager.com.
- Visitors to newspapers’ Web sites are younger, better educated and more likely to make an online purchase than general Internet users. The mean age of online newspaper users is 38, compared with 45 for all Web users, and 44 percent are between 18 and 34.
- Fifty-four percent of visitors to newspaper Web sites have college degrees, compared with 45 percent of general Web users.
- Eighty-four percent of online newspaper users recently researched a purchase online, versus 59 percent for general Web users. Eighty-two percent recently made a purchase online, compared with 52 percent for the overall online universe.
- One hundred and seventy-nine newspapers surveyed for NAA’s Capital Equipment Expenditures Survey indicate they plan to increase overall spending on equipment and technology by more than 74 percent in 2004.