I am periodically asked the question: “Do people read newspapers anymore?”
It’s a fair question, and usually comes from someone who isn’t a high consumer of news – on any platform.
Before answering, I usually ask where they get their news. Facebook is commonly cited.
Any platform which relies on search or share functionality to determine the type of content dispersed to its user is driven predominantly by the user’s history and habitual online behaviour.
This means anyone relying on search or share functionality, let’s say Google and Facebook, for their “news” is missing out on huge amounts of useful information which can be created by a professionally-curated news platform.
At MyCity Logan, we too are driven by consumer behaviour. We know where people are more likely to pick up their newspaper, at what time of the week they’re likely to do it, and we try as best we can to determine what they do with it when they get it.
One thing is for certain, 95% of our distribution is consumed by willing readers.
So yes, people still read newspapers. We also know that our digital edition is being read by more people each week.
That means the question becomes: “Why do people read newspapers?”
There are many facets to the answer, but for the sake of brevity, the easiest answer is that people are looking to expand their knowledge about their communities. Newspapers provide a professionally curated view of that community, picked through commentary to filter out the nonsense and mistruths, and provided a product people can trust.
Leave a Reply