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Around the Web links about National Newspaper Association

  • Survey says: Readers love their community newspapers
    Shared by Tommy Thomason 40 weeks 4 days ago

    So now the readers of NNA’s latest survey know what any community journalists have always known: Our readers think we’re doing a good job and almost three-quarters of them read us regularly.

    What other industry can make such claims? Three-quarters of the people who live in towns served by community papers don’t shop regularly at Wal Mart or watch the same TV show or listen to the same music. But the latest Community Newspaper Readership Study by the National Newspaper Association and The Reynolds Journalism Institute indicates that a whopping 73 percent of residents in small towns and cities read local newspapers from one day to seven days a week. And more than two-thirds (78 percent) read most to all of the contents.
    And there was even more good news in the survey: 80 percent consider local newspapers their primary news source; they prefer their community paper because it focuses on local news; and three-quarters say they look forward to reading their local newspaper.

    What about other media? Eat your heart out, television – 50 percent chose newspapers for local news as opposed to 16.3 percent for TV and 6.7 percent for radio.

    You can read a digest of the survey at the website of the Reynolds Journalism Institute (first link), or, if you’re a member of the National Newspaper Association, you can access the complete report that the NNA website (second link).
  • Building a better pitch book: A good resource for ad reps
    Shared by Tommy Thomason 1 year 5 days ago

    When ad sales people call on clients, they now have to deal with a different type of client objection. No longer must they only be able to explain effectively how your newspaper is a good advertising buy – now they must also address the issue of the effectiveness of newspaper advertising in general. Your advertisers have been reading the stories about how newspapers are dying (and frequently reading those stories in newspapers). Here’s a good resource made available by the National Newspaper Association -- Newspaper: the multi-medium. This site is a collection of all kinds of information that will come in handy for your ad reps – including 10 reasons to advertise in a newspaper, 10 reasons to advertise during tough economic times, 10 reasons to advertise on a newspaper website, 10 reasons to advertise frequently … and lots more. Explore this site and you’ll find all kinds of information to adapt for your advertising reps’ pitch books.
  • Good news: 73 percent say they read community newspapers
    Shared by Tommy Thomason 1 year 6 weeks ago

    Here’s some good news to help you face the new year with optimism: The National Newspaper Association has released results of a new study that shows (insert drum roll here) – 73 percent of people in smaller communities say they read their local newspaper at least once a week. And they’re not just skimming; 78 percent claim that they read all or most of their newspaper. What else? Readers share their paper with 3.34 persons (let us know if you find that .34 of a person), 41 percent keep their paper for six or more days, and they spend 37.5 minutes reading their papers. The study surveyed readers of papers with circulations of 8,000 or fewer.
  • We can't forget the value of convenience for readers
    Shared by Tommy Thomason 2 years 9 weeks ago

    Brian Steffens of the NNA has a blogpost every editor and publisher in Texas needs to read.  It's about what readers really want, and are willing to pay for -- and it's not necessarily just our content. 
     
    To whet your appetite, here's a sample:
     
    "How convenient are our papers for our readers? Is the type large enough for easy reading, or have we shrunk the text size, crammed the letterspacing and reduced the leading/line spacing to get the same amount of news in fewer pages (pages that may now be harder to read, negating the "benefit" of fitting all the news into fewer pages)? How readable are those classifieds or public notices?

    "How convenient are our papers for our advertisers? Is the rate card easy to read and understand, or deadly dull full of ratios and formulas and grids that only your sales reps can read and interpret? Is it simple and easy for a reader to place a classified ad, when they think of it, whether it's during business hours or in the evening after their work shift and they have time to think about selling off something in the garage or basement?

    "While we agonize over our content and how to charge for it, let's not forget a simple marketing maxim: a great way to differentiate your product or service from the next one is to make it easy on the customer. If two providers offer a similar product or service, they'll pick the one that's easiest to use."