Data tracker: Readers ring in good news

Across the world, the news has not been good for the world of newspapers for some time now. The medium has been written off too many times to keep count. But 2017 could well be the year that brings about a shift in perspectives as a December 2016 Nielsen Scarborough study indicates.

“Ever hear the phrase ‘print is dead’? Well if you check with almost 170 million Americans, they’d tell you that nothing could be farther from the truth,” the report said.

• More than 169 million adults in the US read a newspaper in a month, be it in print, on a website or via mobile app
• In total, newspapers reach 69% of the US population in a given month
• Newspapers remain largely a print medium, but the dramatic growth in digital media in recent years has compelled newspaper publishers to rethink their distribution models and become multi-platform content providers
• 81% of monthly newspaper readers engage with the print product, with 51% reading print exclusively. The remaining 49% reads a newspaper on at least one digital platform, with 30% reading both digital and print
• Traditionally, newspaper audiences have been more educated, affluent and older than non-newspaper readers; with digital media gaining prominence, younger readers, still educated and affluent, have joined the league
• The ages of newspaper readers today are more reflective of the general population than they have been in the past; 13% of the U.S. population is 70 or older, and this age group now accounts for 15% of the total monthly newspaper audience
• Compared to previous decades, younger readers now account for a greater percentage of newspaper readers. Notably, millennials 
• (21-34 years) make up 25% of the U.S. population and now represent 24% of the total monthly newspaper readership
• Readers, whether print or digital, are still more likely to be college graduates and have annual household incomes over $100,000 than non-readers
• Digital newspaper paper readers are 49% more likely than the general adult population to be a college graduate and 43% more likely to have household incomes over $100,000
• Interestingly a survey conducted by Nielsen in late 2015 had shown that more respondents in Generation Z (ages 15-20) selected reading (27%) as a favorite activity than tuning into their favorite TV programmes (23%). 
• More Gen Z respondents also picked reading than reviewing social media (17%) or playing video and online games (17 and 16%, respectively)