Viewpoint: Two Simple Steps to Putting Out a Newspaper

Printing a newspaper each week is pretty simple. Our goal is to fill the paper with stories that are of interest to local readers. Our second goal each week is to pay for the paper. We contact advertisers and trade them increased outreach and marketability for their business, in exchange for the money necessary to run a newspaper.

While attempting to fill a paper with things that interest our readers, we recognize that everyone has different interests. We have gleaned over ten years of information from people who respond with input on their renewal notices. But there will still be some editorial judgement. For every opinion that we have too much sports, two people say, "Thanks for covering the sports so well!", and occassionaly someone still asks for more sports. We have shortened the sports coverage slightly.

History has lots of followers and we are grateful to have so talented an author and collector of history in our midst as Cheryl Huban. 

People want more information about crime. Several weeks ago at a meeting I attended someone commented that, to paraphrase, ”Things were going to hell in a handbasket.” and, "We need to keep those people from moving in because of the increase in crime." I read the Pueblo County Sheriff's Report every week and haven’t noticed an uptick in crime in our community. Because readers like crime reports, I have, instead, widened my use of similar reports. I start locally and move outward, staying within Pueblo County.

As for advertising, business people stay in business by being wise with their money. Conversations we have with advertisers center around the cost of the ad versus the potential business those ads can bring in. Thus, I thought I would start the new year out with a little statistical information about newspapers.

The most recent newspaper industry statistics find that newspaper readers are loyal. More than 124 million U.S. adults read the newspaper each week. That’s six out of 10. There are about 8500 papers in the United States. Seven thousand of those are not daily newspapers, they are community papers like the Greenhorn Valley View. 

Fifty-eight percent of adults age 18-34, and more than 60% of people over the age of 35, read the newspaper. Young people like newspapers. The pass-along rate of a weekly newspaper is 2.3 people per newspaper. That makes 150 million readers of weekly newspapers.

Advertisers should know that the percentage of households who read the newspaper with an income of $100K or more is 70%. People who have more spendable income read newspapers.

Statistics show that 91% of newspaper readers report that they take action after reading or looking at newspaper inserts. Seventy-nine percent said they had taken action as a result of reading a newspaper ad in the past 30 days.

A very interesting statistic aboutweekly newspapers: sixty-five percent say that newspaper ads are influential in making purchasing decisions. Those same people (in small newspaper markets) say they rarely or never rely on the radio for purchasing decisions (78%); rarely or never rely on television for purchasing decisions (70%) and rarely or never rely on the internet for purchasing decisions (45%).

Nothing replaces word of mouth. If people like what you do and spread the word, that is the best advertisement. The same is also true, if you don’t provide quality service and products all of the advertising in the world won’t help. In the meantime, the newspaper might just be a good option to influence buying decisions. You might make a New Year’s resolution to talk to me. I’d love to visit with you.