Study Examines Readership Habits Of 18- To 24-Year-Olds
ST. LOUIS, July 24 /PRNewswire/ -- New research for the Newspaper
Association of America Foundation finds that newspaper content for teens,
by teens and relating to teens strongly impacts a newspaper's ability to
attract young adult readers and keep them as they age. According to the
study of more than 1,600 18- to 24-year-olds, 75 percent of respondents who
said they read newspaper content aimed at teens when they were 13 to 17
years old now read their local paper at least once a week, compared with 44
percent of those who said they did not read teen content.
"Local newspapers recognize the need to nurture students' appetite for
news, and newspapers that provide content tailored to teens are making a
powerful connection with the younger readers in their communities," said
Margaret Vassilikos, senior vice president and treasurer of the NAA
Foundation. "This study is the first to validate that not only are
newspapers on the right track in reaching the readers of tomorrow, but they
are nurturing a future generation of informed and involved citizens who are
able to serve as active participants in the democratic process."
The NAA Foundation estimates that about 220 newspapers across the
country have special teen pages or sections, many of which are written by
teens under the guidance of a newspaper editor. Other sources of youth
content for all ages may come from syndicated services that are selling to
about 800 newspapers across the country.
The study, "Lifelong Readers: The Role of Youth Content," was conducted
by Minneapolis-based MORI Research. Findings will be presented today during
the NAA Foundation's 2006 Young Reader Conference July 22-26 in St. Louis.
"Lifelong Readers" follows a 2004 NAA Foundation study that revealed a
positive relationship between newspaper use in the classroom and lifelong
readership. Coupling the results of the two studies suggests that newspaper
use in the classroom and readership of teen content increases the
likelihood that teen readers will continue to use the newspaper as adults.
When it comes to content, the research shows that content written for
teens, by teens or relating to teens tops the list of readership drivers.
According to the study:
* 30 percent of young adults said teen content drew them to the paper
* 18 percent cited content that was written by someone they knew or
content that featured an interview with someone they knew
* 16 percent cited entertainment news
* 10 percent said general interest news
* 8 percent said advice columns
* 4 percent said comics drove them to the paper.
In addition, those who read teen content along with other news and
features in their local newspaper are more likely to read the local paper
as adults. According to the study:
* Nearly eight in 10 (78 percent) of respondents who said they read the
local paper plus the teen content read their local paper in the past
week; 50 percent read their local paper yesterday.
* 81 percent of this group said they read the local Sunday paper in the
past four weeks and 66 percent said they read it last Sunday.
"Teen content is a good investment for the future," said Bruce Bradley,
president/publishing group of Landmark Communications Inc. and chairman of
the NAA Foundation Board of Trustees. "It offers positive readership from
youth today, and a secondary benefit is the parents of youth who read these
sections. As my kids get older, I like to read these pages because I want
to know what people that age are thinking."
The study also reports the six factors for 13- to 17-year-olds that
best predicted future newspaper readership. In order of influence, the
factors were:
* Read market paper in an average week
* Ever read market newspaper's teen section
* Parents regularly read newspaper
* Parents regularly encouraged reading newspaper
* Newspapers ever used in classroom discussions and
* Parents regularly encouraged reading teen section
On Methodology:
The survey findings are based on interviews with young adults in seven
communities, both large and small, whose local newspapers have a
long-standing commitment to special teen sections. The newspapers in the
study were The Buffalo News, Buffalo, N.Y.; The Kansas City Star, Kansas
City, Mo.; The Virginian-Pilot, Virginia Beach, Va.; The Tribune Chronicle,
Warren, Ohio; The Standard-Examiner, Ogden, Utah; The State
Journal-Register, Springfield, Ill.; and The Reading Eagle, Reading, Pa.
The young adults who were interviewed were between the ages of 18 and
24 and had lived in those communities long enough to be exposed to the teen
sections when they were between 13 and 17 years of age. The data suggest
that for both large and small markets, reading both the newspaper and the
teen section contributed more toward future readership habits than simply
reading one or the other.
Young Reader Conference
Both Newspaper in Education and Youth Editorial Alliance professionals
will attend the Young Reader Conference held at the Hilton St. Louis at the
Ballpark. The complete schedule can be found at
http://www.naafoundation.org.
Newspaper In Education is a cooperative effort between schools,
newspapers and civic-minded sponsors that promotes the use of newspapers as
an educational resource and curriculum tool. The Youth Editorial Alliance
is an advocate for youth voices in the news media committed to high quality
newspaper content which addresses their concerns.
Sponsors of the 2006 NAA Foundation Young Reader Conference are The St.
Louis Post-Dispatch, American Profile Magazine, Associated Press, Breakfast
Serials, Feld Entertainment, Foundation for Investor Education, Hollister
Kids, Hot Topics/Hot Serials, Kid Scoop, KRP Productions, McClatchy
Interactive, Missouri Press Association, National Geographic, NIE Online,
Parade Magazine, Pigskin Geography, RP Productions, Scripps Howard
Foundation, Universal Press Syndicate, USA WEEKEND Magazine and Verizon
The NAA Foundation strives to develop engaged and literate citizens in
our diverse society through investment in and support of programs designed
to enhance student achievement through newspaper readership and
appreciation of the First Amendment. Information about the Foundation and
its programs may be found at http://www.naafoundation.org.
SOURCE Newspaper Association of America Foundation
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Related links:
http://www.naa.org/
CONTACT:
Sheila Owens of the Newspaper Association of
America, +1-703-902-1682, or sheila.owens@naa.org
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