Trust us, we’ve heard it before.
“Print is dead.” “Nobody reads newspapers anymore.” “The Internet is the place to be.”
Well, those naysayers are wrong.
According to a survey from Pulse Research, Wyoming’s newspapers are still the number one source for news and consumer information. Newspapers beat radio, television and yes, the Internet, as sources people turn to.
“Unfortunately, many businesses have the misperception that ‘print is dead,’” said an executive summary of the results written by John Marling of Pulse Research.
Nearly 70 percent of the people polled in the survey say they read newspapers either regularly or sometimes. Newspapers are the primary source of local information for nearly 25 percent of those responding in the survey. This compares to 19.8 percent for television, 14.7 percent for non-newspaper websites and 13.6 percent for radio. With the reach and longevity Wyoming’s newspaper’s offer, they are the best means for disseminating not only information about local communities, but promoting them locally as well.
Almost 90 percent of those polled read newspaper advertising either regularly or sometimes, with 31 percent of respondents saying they use. We can honestly say newspaper advertising is the better alternative, especially to online advertising. A 2014 report from Adobe and PageFair cites there are 144 million people who use software designed to block advertising on websites, with usage growing nearly 70 percent between June 2013 and June 2014. While ad blocking software usage varies by country, the report states nearly a quarter of internet using populations in some countries utilize some form of the technology.
Another troubling bit of information for online advertisers comes from Google. Research conducted by the company suggests 56 percent of internet ads aren’t seen by actual users. Google, while known for its search engine, is the world’s largest advertising-based tech company. Many of Google’s services, including Youtube, Gmail and its search engine, are platforms Google uses to serve advertising to users.
Ever try to block an ad in a newspaper? All someone needs are a pair of scissors and a good eye to find the ads, in which case the effort is defeated because a person has to see the ad to cut it out. Cutting out an ad isn’t feasible anyway, as it might lead to a good chunk of that story on A11 getting snipped as well.
Print is the new, and old, black for Wyoming’s communities. While others may try to decry print to their own profit, make no mistake, print is still alive and well.
Reader Comments(0)