Good news for print as papers hold their own

Talk that the internet is killing print simply is not true – at least in the case of UK newspapers, according to a recent report in The Guardian.

In an article, ‘We thought the internet was killing print. But it isn't’, journalist Peter Preston pointed to research showing that the popularity of online news sites had not resulted in a decline of print sales.

Analyst, Jim Chisholm, told The Guardian that there was no correlation. "This is true at both a micro-level in terms of UK newspaper titles and groups and at a macro-level comparing national internet adoption with circulation performance. Indeed, the opposite case could be argued: that newspapers that do well on the web also do better in print… Understandably worried traditional journalists should know that the internet is not a threat."

The research showed that the greatest threat to newspapers is not the medium, but being able to keep their readers. "The issue is not one of total audience, but of frequency and loyalty – and online, as in print, newspapers are great at attracting readers from time to time, but they don't attract them often enough, and they don't hang around."

To read the article in its entirety, click here.