When will newspapers figure it out?
August 22nd, 2007I’m one of those Boomers who still reads news on paper–I look through three newspapers every morning. Over breakfast today, I caught up on Tribune Co.’s lingering struggle to finish up its leveraged buyout and get off Wall Street before its stock collapses entirely (full disclosure: I’m a former employee and stockholder, but I’m just suffering along with everyone else). There’s nothing unique about the Tribune story; falling circulation and advertising revenue, a growing number of media choices, 
fragmenting consumer use of content (For other examples, see Knight Ridder or Dow Jones).
When will this industry realize that it has a great story to tell? Namely: Every day, newspapers have the attention of the most desirable audience in America–Baby Boomers. Companies like Tribune are panicked about their failure to attract young readers. Meanwhile, they continue to own the market of educated, affluent consumers.
A couple of facts from the annual Newspaper Association of America (NAA) publication, The Source: Newspapers by the Numbers:
- 58 percent of U.S. adults age 50-59 read a daily newspaper–and 66 percent read a Sunday paper
- Boomers are the most desirable demographic segment around. Period (see NAA chart above).
Why not just acknowledge reality and promote newspapers as the best way for advertisers to reach the Boomer sweet spot? Because publicly traded newspaper companies need to convince Wall Street that its future growth prospects are attractive. But as more go private, publishers should get in touch with reality. Boomers can be a cash cow for newpapers for decades to come, if only publishers can get over their obsession with the youth market.
August 22nd, 2007 at 2:26 pm
Mark: Good points. I think you’re right that boomers will continue to be a good audience for paid daily newspapers. One of the ways this may play out is that newspapers will charge more for subscriptions (the NY Times recently increased Sunday and daily), in part acknowledging that newspapers are becoming more niche (boomers) than mass.
The problem of course is that boomers are rapidly getting comfortable online and significant improving their daily usage, more likely at Google or Yahoo than at daily newspaper sites. One stat I’ve come across that I find hugely revealing is that Americans spend about 62 minutes a day accessing news — and that number is the same as it was 10 years ago. But the Web is now part of that mix, as newspaper and TV usage inevitably dwindle.
August 22nd, 2007 at 3:18 pm
I’ve been in the newspaper business for 37 years, a lot of that time in sales. Remember that media buyers never grew up in a newspaper centric household. They are Xers and Yers even.
Centralized advertising buying was the first wound that newspapers never recovered from.
Even though Boomers have always been a tremendous force in driving the economy, most media buyers just don’t get it.
August 22nd, 2007 at 7:53 pm
Mark,
I couldn’t agree with you more. In fact, our success at The Erickson Tribune comes from focusing in on the very demographic others are ignoring . . . go figure. Our recent Simmons survey reveals two key factors:
1. Our readers (65+) have money
2. While they are evolving and enjoy the web (online we get 140,000 hits a month), they still feel most comfortable with the newspaper