Readership Study: 'Your Paper Is In Peril'

By: Jennifer Saba "Your newspaper is in peril," John Lavine, director of the Readership Institute, told a packed room of newspaper editors and publishers here today. Lavine was speaking about the latest findings on young readers released at a joint conference session between the Newspaper Association of American and American Society of Newspaper Editors.

Readership is declining among 18- to 24-year-olds; and those that do read newspapers spend less time doing so. One third of those young readers are considered heavy readers and 61% read their daily paper over the course of a week with an average reading time of 20 minutes -- much less than older readers, especially those over 65. "The [danger] is real. You can't have a business where your older customers are not replaced," urged Lavine.

The New Readers study, surveying 10,800 readers among 52 dailies, found advertising is one of the key drivers to readership in that age group and that they seek out image ads with a narrative flair. They also seek value for their money. In this regard, Lavine said newspapers are way behind the curve: "Just about all advertisers are offered a youth demographic in every other medium save for newspapers."

Lavine shed some positive light on the situation, saying that if newspapers act now, they can make up for lost time. He also highlighted eight key areas that papers can focus on to grow this demographic along with some reader comments from the survey including: talking points ("I like to give advice and tips to people I know based on things I've read in this newspaper"), good service (I would probably read the paper more if it were easier to for me to get it") and ad usefulness ("I like the ads just as much or more than the stories").

The study revealed negative traits that young readers associate with newspapers including that "it covers too much" and that papers discriminate and promote stereotypes -- with Lavine noting that the majority of young readers polled were white.

The audience was advised to pick a few traits best suited for their paper and go for change -- all the while being sensitive to their core older audience. "You can innovate for young readers. It can be done. Remember USA Today?" Lavine said about how the industry was full of naysayers when the national paper first launched with much success.

But papers have to incorporate this change from within. If it sounds simple, the reality is stark: Of the 6,600 newspaper employees polled, most feel that they are not encouraged to take risks or that their ideas are not valued. "Please don't go home and say you could do all this and have the mother ship stay as it is," Lavine cautioned. "You must deal with the mother ship, you must," he insisted about newsrooms encouraging ideas and then applying them.

Lavine also added that the most innovate papers today are the ones with the most diverse staffs. "Internal diversity matters."

The complete study is available at www.readership.org.