A new study by Forrester Research shows that 45 per cent of news consumers aged 20-29 years old regularly use the web sites of their favourite print newspapers for their news, rather than reading the papers themselves. Less than 30 per cent say they would rather read print newspapers than web sites.
Before the dot.com crash, the biggest web menace to print was believed to be its tendency to draw away lucrative classified advertising. But, today, newspapers face the risk of losing a whole segment of their readership. This group is also particularly valued for its size, spending habits and potential long-term relationship.
Christopher M. Kelley, the analyst behind the report, told medialife.com that publishers "need to create a very clear multi-channel strategy to drive these younger consumers both online and offline".
These findings were echoed by Neil Morton, editor of shift.com: "Over the next 10 to 20 years - and this is a conservative estimate - newspapers will have to substantially re-invent themselves or they will perish. In some cases, maybe only the online version will exist," he said.
"Printed newspapers can't overcome the web's immediacy as a news source for events such as the September 11 terrorist attacks. They can't provide coverage as deep or as broad. Plus the web embraces a wider variety of viewpoints than found in most major newspapers - not to mention "oddball" news and coverage of issues entirely omitted in print.
"As a kid, I pretty much took as gospel what our national newspaper was saying. I thought the (Toronto) Globe was giving me 99 per cent of the news, but as I've discovered via the web, it's more like 5 to 10 per cent of what's really going on."
www.shift.com/web/feature/feature008a.asp
www.medialifemagazine.com/news2002/feb02/feb11/2_tues/news4tuesday.html
Free daily newsletter
If you like our news and feature articles, you can sign up to receive our free daily (Mon-Fri) email newsletter (mobile friendly).
