Which newspapers are the best investment?

Several studies have shown that the newspaper demographic, both online and offline readers, are many times more educated and have higher earning power. This makes the newspaper reading demographic a good demographic for most marketers, but which newspapers will serve up the greatest return on investment?

by Kristina Knight

That can be harder to determine but a recent report from Scarborough Research could help. The report lists the highest penetration newspapers for local readership. What is most interesting is that the newspapers with the highest penetration for print readership also have quite high penetration for websites.

The Rochester (New York) Democrat & Chronicle has a 79% penetration rate for print; the combined audience (print and website) reaches 81% penetration. Gannett Wisconsin Newspapers in Green Bay have a 72% penetration rate for print and a 76% penetration rate when combined. Finally Des Moines Register (Iowa) has a 70% penetration rate for print but when combined with online readership that penetration rate jumps to 71%.

Though the differences aren't a huge difference, it is clear that both online and print versions of newspapers are continuing to grow their audience segments. This growing readership also makes newspapers and newspaper websites a good choice for online advertisers.