More Than Half Of Adults Read Newspapers.

Newspaper readership in the top 50 U.S. markets gained nearly a full percentage point in the Newspaper Association of America’s Fall 2001 Competitive Media Index, an NAA analysis of market data from Scarborough Research for the period ending March 2001.

In the top 50 markets, 54.3 percent of all adults read a newspaper yesterday, a gain over the 53.5 percent reported in the spring CMI report. Sunday readership held steady at 63.7 percent, compared to 63.8 percent in the last CMI.

“The newspaper industry has put tremendous effort and resources into shoring up its readership base, and it’s encouraging to see a gain in our reach,” commented NAA President and CEO John F. Sturm. “Further, since the survey period for this report ended in March 2001, these numbers stand alone – they do not reflect the surge in readership we’ve heard about from folks picking up newspapers to help them comprehend the events of Sept. 11 and its aftermath.”

When looking at a full week, the number of people who read a newspaper increases significantly. Over five weekdays, newspapers reach more than seven in 10 (72.9 percent) adults, and over four Sundays, newspapers reach more than three-quarters (77.4 percent) of adults in the top 50 markets.

Other media held steady or showed slight declines from the spring CMI to the fall. The average half-hour of prime-time TV held steady at 38.8 percent of adults, compared to 38.6 in the spring. The same block of cable prime-time reached 12.9 percent of adults, faring slightly better than the 12.2 last spring. The average quarter-hour of both morning and afternoon radio drive-time fell to 21.9 percent (from 22.9 percent) and 17.9 percent (from 18.5 percent), respectively.

In addition to reporting newspaper readership trends, NAA conducted an analysis of data in the Audit Bureau of Circulations’ Fas-Fax report for the six-month period ending Sept. 30, 2001. Based on ABC data, NAA concluded that for the 757 papers reporting for this period, total daily circulation was 47,861,622; the 593 Sunday papers saw total net-paid circulation of 52,596,972.

Several ABC rules changes affecting how newspapers report paid circulation make it difficult to compare data from this Fas-Fax with that reported a year ago. Although this Fas-Fax reporting period includes the increases in newspaper sales since Sept. 11, the data are averaged over a six-month period ending Sept. 30, 2001.

“New definitions created by ABC for what constitutes paid circulation mean that comparing this report to last year’s numbers is unworkable,” Sturm explained.

“NAA’s core focus is readership and we will continue to report readership analysis from the CMI twice a year,” Sturm added. “This is the last time NAA will provide an analysis of aggregate ABC data. We are hopeful that in the future ABC will report aggregate Fas-Fax totals.”

Below is a list of adult readership in the top-10 daily and Sunday newspaper markets, according to the Fall 2001 CMI.

Top 10 Daily Newspaper Readership Markets (among the top 50 U.S. markets)

Hartford/New Haven (65.3 percent)
West Palm Beach (63.8 percent)
Boston (63.6 percent)
Cleveland (62.2 percent)
New York (62.1 percent)
Providence/New Bedford (62.0 percent)
Tampa/St. Petersburg/Sarasota (61.7 percent)
Harrisburg/Lancaster/Lebanon/York (61.0 percent)
Philadelphia (60.4 percent)
Pittsburgh (60.3 percent)
Top 10 Sunday Newspaper Readership Markets (among the top 50 U.S. markets)

West Palm Beach (75.6 percent)
Tampa/St. Petersburg/Sarasota (75.3 percent)
Providence/New Bedford (73.7 percent)
Cleveland (73.5 percent)
Hartford/New Haven (73.1 percent)
Minneapolis/St. Paul (70.9 percent)
Buffalo (70.8 percent)
Philadelphia (70.5 percent)
Milwaukee (69.9 percent)
New York (69.6 percent)

For more information at http://www.naa.org