By David B. Wilkerson
The average number of unique visitors to newspaper Web sites
grew 10% in the first quarter, according to a Nielsen Online
analysis issued Thursday, even as the industry struggles to
translate that readership into bigger dollars.
Nielsen's latest study, commissioned by the Newspaper
Association of America, showed that newspaper-operated Web sites
attracted more than 73.3 million monthly unique users in the
quarter ended March 31, compared with 66.4 million in the first
three months of 2008.
Newspaper-site visitors generated an average of more than 3.5
billion page views per month in the first quarter of 2009, an
increase of 13% over the same three months a year ago. The
page-view total is the highest since the NAA started keeping track
of the data in 2004.
"In an increasingly challenging media environment, consumers
know they can turn to newspapers - whether in hardcopy or digital
form - for insightful analysis and comprehensive reporting on the
issues that impact their lives day in and day out," John Sturm,
chief executive of the NAA, said in a statement.
In making its case to advertisers, the NAA pointed out Thursday
that more than 28% of participants in a Scarborough Research study
with household income of $100,000 or more have visited a newspaper
Web site in the last seven days. About 83% of that group either
read a printed newspaper or visited a newspaper's digital
equivalent over that span.
The problem for newspapers, especially in the past two years,
has been to keep online advertising revenues growing in conjunction
with the rising digital audience.
Newspapers do provide important, high-quality information, but
it's just impossible right now for them to command premium ad rates
in the digital environment, according to Dave Gusse, president of
NSA Media, a division of media-buying firm Mediabrands.
"In short, advertisers are not willing to pay a premium for
quality content at this point," Gusse said in an email. "Newspapers
have long enjoyed competing in a market where there was little or
no competition, with most cities having only one major daily
newspaper...Online offers hundreds if not thousands of outlets in
every market in the country, which makes it a buyer's market."
With print revenue in decline for some time, digital revenue
rose sharply during the 2005-07 period, particularly in the
classified arena, fueled by a real-estate boom in many parts of the
U.S. and solid job growth.
However, as the recession deepened, online revenue growth
slowed, stalled, and, as the economy cratered in 2008, moved into
negative territory, where it remains. Recent earnings reports from
Gannett Co. (GCI) and New York Times Co. (NYT) showed no signs of
improvement on the near-term horizon, though New York Times Co.
Chief Executive Janet Robinson said there are indications that some
advertisers are planning to spend more in the second half of
2009.
Meanwhile, staggering losses in print ad sales, led by 30%-plus
declines in classifieds, have forced a number of newspapers to
close or to threaten closure. Bankruptcies are also on the
rise.
In March, Hearst Corp. opted to shut down print operations of
the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, turning it into a Web-only
publication with a small editorial staff. A month earlier, it
warned that it might shut down the San Francisco Chronicle unless
it could find a way to drastically cut operating costs.
Also in February, E.W. Scripps & Co. (SSP) shut down
Denver's Rocky Mountain News, while Philadelphia Newspapers LLC and
Journal Register Co. (JRCO) filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy
protection.
Last December, Tribune Co., (TRBCQ) publisher of the Chicago
Tribune, the Los Angeles Times, the Baltimore Sun and other major
dailies, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The parent of
the Minneapolis Star-Tribune followed suit a month later.
-David B. Wilkerson; 415-439-6400; AskNewswires@dowjones.com