Thanks to the Readership Institute, newspaper readership steady in US top 50 markets

Even if some bad news will come from important American newspapers, the ABC audit to be released today is expected to show a certain stability according to the Newspaper Association of America. To NAA President and CEO John F. Sturm, newspapers have worked hard over the last few years to put into practice readership recommendations from the Readership Institute. "We are beginning to see progress well beyond what many expected," he said. "Newspapers of all sizes are incorporating innovative approaches to increase readership and they're beginning to pay off. At this time, the industry has gone from understanding readership to doing something about it."

Please find below the whole NAA Press release:

" Newspapers in the top US 50 markets are reaching nearly eight out of 10 adults (78.6 percent) over the course of a week (five weekdays plus a Sunday), according to the spring 2004 Competitive Media Index from the Newspaper Association of America. The CMI is an NAA analysis of market data from Scarborough Research covering the period from August 2002 to September 2003. NAA also reports that more than half of all adults in the top 50 markets are reading a newspaper every weekday; 53.4 percent reported by the spring 2004 CMI, compared to 54.1 percent in the fall 2003. Each Sunday, 62.0 percent of adults in those markets read a newspaper, down slightly from 62.5 percent reported in the fall 2003 CMI.

"The good news is that each week newspapers in the top 50 markets reach 79 percent of adults, and more than half of adults on a daily basis," said NAA President and CEO John F. Sturm. "Over the last six months, the economic outlook may have changed from week to week, but newspapers remained a constant for advertisers, delivering a steady reader base they have come to value."

In addition, Sturm said, newspapers have worked hard over the last few years to put into practice readership recommendations from the Readership Institute. "We are beginning to see progress well beyond what many expected," he said. "Newspapers of all sizes are incorporating innovative approaches to increase readership and they're beginning to pay off. At this time, the industry has gone from understanding readership to doing something about it."

Readership Stories:

Tampa Tribune (As of March 31, 2004: daily: 238,877, Sunday: 315,811)

In 2003, the Tampa Tribune added 45,800 daily readers and 49,500 Sunday readers, increasing core market penetration by more than 1 percent for both. Daily circulation increased by nearly 4 percent, and the newspaper has demonstrated increases over three consecutive reporting periods. "There is no silver bullet for circulation growth," Publisher Gil Thelen said. "We attribute our success to content improvements aimed at reader interests and needs, targeted circulation sales efforts, better brand definition and related brand marketing, smart third-party programs and flexible pricing." Tampa launched a new branding campaign in October with the tag line "Life. Printed Daily."

Contact: Amy Chown, 813-259-7767, achown@tampatrib.com

The Commercial Appeal (Memphis) (As of March 31, 2004: daily: 177,723, Sunday: 240,712)

Through retention efforts, geographic pricing and product enhancements, The Commercial Appeal continued to grow circulation after a decade of sinking sales. Recent readership research showed that average daily adult readership increased from 41% to 46% from 2001 to 2003, while Sunday gained 62% to 64% during that period. Within their designated market area, they added nearly 59,000 weekday readers and 61,500 on Sundays. Among the product enhancements are seven new community editions consisting primarily of content submitted by readers.

Contact: Elena Calinas, 901-529-2285, cainas@commercialappeal.com

Jackson County (Fla.) Floridan (As of March 31, 2004: daily: 6,924; Sunday: 6,926)

The Floridan has grown daily circulation more than 26 percent since 2002. The paper attributes its success to heavy focus on more local news, improving carrier routes, aggressive attention to retention and a partnership between editorial and circulation. "Editorial is excited about the growth and watches the single copy numbers with anticipation each week," according to Publisher Roger Underwood. "The editorial staff knows they are part of the reason for the circulation growth."

Contact: Ray Kozakewicz, (804) 649-6748 rkozakewicz@mediageneral.com

Knoxville News Sentinel (As of March 31, 2004: 123,047; Sunday: 156,158)

The Knoxville News Sentinel saw a 1 percent jump in daily circulation because of aggressive strategies to drive readership. Among their new efforts include a "World Class Service" campaign, improved navigation and more legible fonts, daily briefs in all sections, reader-generated stories, increased focus on ethnic community coverage, a content sampling program targeted to non-subscribers, re-designed classified sections and more.

Contact: Lara Edge, 865-342-6295, Edge@knews.com

The Tifton Gazette (Ga.) (As of March 31, 2004: )

The Tifton Gazette grew circulation by 3 percent in 2003 and has averaged 5.3 percent increases so far in 2004. Gazette Publisher Frank Sayles credits growth to an improved editorial product (including increased local coverage and more content targeted at youth and other special interests), more daily promotion and event sponsorship, regular reader contests, increased customer service training, and weekly cross-departmental meetings focused on circulation and readership growth.

Source: Newspaper Association of America

NAA is a nonprofit organization representing the $55 billion newspaper industry and more than 2,000 newspapers in the U.S. and Canada. Most NAA members are daily newspapers, accounting for 87 percent of the U.S. daily circulation. Headquartered in Tysons Corner (Vienna, Va.), the Association focuses on six key strategic priorities that affect the newspaper industry collectively: marketing, public policy, diversity, industry development, newspaper operations and readership. Information about NAA and the industry may also be found at www.naa.org