Printed page struggles to hold its own weight

Americans would rather read the news from a computer screen than on a printed page, a new study shows.

According to the Newspaper Association of America, the number of unique visitors to newspaper websites in 2007 rose by more than six per cent, reaching a monthly average of 60 million.

The report also found that the newspaper industry has become increasingly reliant upon online advertising while print advertising experienced difficulty, especially in areas such as classified ad sales.

Australians still enjoy picking up the paper, according to a spokesman at Fairfax Media, who believes that the company's print publications have experienced a stable readership and circulation figures.

"We are actually in a better commercial position than our colleagues in the US," said the spokesman. "In recent years, Fairfax Media newspapers have generally enjoyed increasing circulation and readership. We work hard on our marketing and in improvements and innovations in our publications to drive continuing appeal for our readers."

From the period of July-September 2007, Sydney Morning Herald online attracted 3, 895, 258 unique browsers compared to the newspaper, which had circulation figures of 211, 700. In the same period, News.com.au attracted 2, 581, 098 unique browsers, while the Daily Telegraph recorded circulation figures of 383, 000.