Younger news readers don't read newspapers

The generation gap for newspapers continues to grow, and that is not good news for marketers focused on print publications. According to a recent comScore report, younger news readers are not getting their news fixes from newspapers. They are reading news online.

by Kristina Knight

This is another indication that newspapers need to do something innovative to draw in new readers; it is also an indicator that marketers may want to focus their budgets into two distinct groups: one focused to young, online readers and one focused to older, print readers.

Researchers surveyed 400 news readers; they found that about half of those aged 18 through 44 were heavy news consumers but very few were newspaper readers. Instead, these readers are getting their news, for free, from online sources. They read online versions of their local papers and national papers as well as news and political blogs. Television news websites are also popular destination points.

The older generation, aged 45 through 65+, are also heavy news consumers but most of this group get their news from the local paper.

For newspapers the news is discouraging and clearly points to a need to revamp what newspapers provide or offer their readership.

For marketers this indicates that ad buying needs to change. Making a single across-the-board buy for a local paper is not going to cut it. Instead, ads should be purchased according to the readership. Ads placed in the paper should be targeted to older readers. Different ads should be created and placed in online venues.