Most US adults—164 million (69%)—read newspaper media content in print or online in a typical week, or access it on mobile devices in a typical month, according to a recent report from Scarborough Research and The Newspaper Association of America.
Moreover, 59% of Americans age 18-24, the youngest group of adults surveyed, access newspaper content across all platforms during the same time period, the study found.
Below, additional findings from the NAA SenseMaker Report:
Mobile Audience Growth
- Overall, the total newspaper media audience in a typical week (excluding mobile) dipped 2% in 2012 from 2011.
- However, the mobile newspaper audience grew 58% in an average month in 2012 compared with the average month in 2011.
- The audience of readers who are newspaper mobile-exclusive—that is, those who access newspaper content on mobile devices only—grew 83% in 2012 compared with a year ago.
- Owners of Apple devices are particularly likely to be news consumers. From 2011 to 2012, the use of iPads to access newspaper content increased 151% and the use of iPhones grew 85%.
Younger Readers Go Digital
- The median age of print newspaper readers is 54. That is almost identical to the median age of those who watch local TV evening news (53) or watch national/network news (53).
- The median age of the online newspaper media audience is 43. That is also the median age of adults using the Internet for any purpose.
- The median age of those who use a mobile device to access newspaper content in a typical month is 37; those who are "newspaper mobile exclusive," are even younger with a median age of 33.
About the research: The report was based on a survey of 206,000 US adults conducted on a rolling basis from August 2011 through September 2012.
