NAA Study: Newspaper Web Users Above Average in Many Ways

By: Jennifer Saba The Newspaper Association of America released Internet usage data in conjunction with its industry conference held here starting on Sunday. Figures show that an average of 59 million people, or 37% of all active Internet users, visited newspaper Web sites each month during the Q1. During the same period, the overall Internet audience grew 2.7%.

?The fact that newspaper Web site audience is growing at almost double the rate of the Internet audience as a whole validates the industry?s investment in digital innovation, and the ongoing attraction consumers have to newspapers online,? John Sturm, CEO of the NAA, said in a statement.

The NAA commissioned a custom study from Nielsen//NetRatings (which is owned by E&P's parent company, the Nielsen Co.) to glean more insight into online newspaper usage.

The study found that nearly 88% newspaper Web site visitors have made a purchase online in the last six months, compared with 79% of the overall Internet audience. About 73% of newspaper Web site visitors go online every day, compared with 57.8% of the entire Internet population.

?It?s no surprise newspapers are attracting online readers at this incredible rate,? Shawn Riegsecker, CEO of interactive agency Centro, said in a statement. ?As consumer become more sophisticated in navigating the Web, they are turning to trusted sources of news and information, like newspapers, instead of aggregators or portals. This couldn?t be better for the industry, as newspaper control more of this information than any other medium.?

The study also found that online newspaper readers are more likely to read blogs -- 28.4%, versus 16.7% of the total online population.

More than one in five newspaper Web site visitors have read about politics, compared with 10.8% of the overall Internet population.

Forty-two percent of those who have visited newspapers online have viewed streaming video on their computers in the last 30 days, compared with 27.4% of the overall Internet population.

Nearly 29% of newspaper Web site visitors have sought out or posted a product review, compared with 16% of the overall Web population.

The NAA conference kicked off Sunday with afternoon panels and a party sponsored by Parade magazine. Monday will feature a full run of panels and the AP annual meeting and luncheon.

For more information on the Web survey, visit this link.