Published: October 05, 2009 10:48 pm      

Newspapers still deliver

THE ISSUE:National Newspaper Week Oct. 4-10.

OUR VIEW:Newspapers have a long future ahead as a primary source of news and information.

Newspapers can be forgiven for borrowing a line from Mark Twain: The report of our death has been greatly exaggerated.

National media coverage of the failure of a handful of major metropolitan newspapers has bred a misconception that newspapers are a dying breed. The truth is quite different.

We’re here to tell you that newspapers still deliver.

They deliver the news and the advertising that people want to help them with their daily lives, whether it’s keeping an eye out on the school board’s budget or a sale on appliances.

Every day, 2.8 million Hoosiers read a newspaper, according to research by Nielsen and SRDS Media Solutions.

That’s more Hoosier households reading a newspaper daily than watch all local TV evening newscasts, Nielsen and SRDS report.

The last readership survey performed by American Opinion Research on Hoosiers found that 87 percent of the adults read a newspaper each week, be it a daily, Sunday edition or local weekly newspaper.

It makes sense when you consider that no other source of news brings its audience so much in one easy package, whether it’s print or online. The newspaper brings reports on local government, local businesses, obituaries, crime news, high school sports coverage, church and social organization events, and advertising readers want to see. And 63 percent of Hoosiers have the newspaper delivered to their door.

It’s no wonder then that American Opinion Research found that Hoosiers overwhelmingly list newspapers as their No. 1 shopping source – easily beating out cable TV, direct mail, national TV, Internet, radio, magazines, yellow pages and billboards.

There’s no doubt that Indiana newspapers are facing challenges as they determine how to best incorporate the Internet into the delivery of local news and advertising. Newspapers that not too long ago didn’t have their own Web sites now see the Internet as a key part of their daily product.

Hoosiers tomorrow may choose to read their news on a laptop computer, iPhone or BlackBerry, but we believe they will continue to choose a newspaper as a primary source of that news.

– Hoosier State Press Association