Consumers Love Newspapers

Or so says a survey published by, of course, a group representing newspapers, bastions of free speech and free opinions, but not free advertising.

I detest surveys and reports.

Most of them are paid to confirm something that is nothing and to deny nothing that is something. Or put another way, every survey says more than it means rather than means more than it says.

Surveys about cities are the worst. They elevate mediocrity to excellence and demote greatness to mediocrity.

When I think of a survey, I think of an examination of buildings, land and deeds. It is not a collection of opinions, collected by collectors of opinions.

If you believe in nothing, you are then susceptible to believe in everything, including surveys.

The survey in question begins with this headline: “across all platforms...”

I'm not sure what a platform is in this context; in another context, it is something to stand on so you don't fall on your ass. (Politicians have platforms, but they always fall on their asses.)

It was published by the Newspaper Association of America, an advocate of the newspaper industry in, of course, America, a country founded by narrow opinions and broad ideals.

It is not about readership. It is about advertising. It is a well-known observation that newspapers are suffering from revenue degradation. Some might say newspapers have degraded their news so the community deserves what it gets.

Whether the community is a reflection of the newspaper or a newspaper is a reflection of the community is an odd debate, probably best left to thoughtful editorial writers and Facebook pundits who pontificate with boundless enthusiasm.

Every good announcement begins with a good solid fact or a fact that the promoters think is a good solid fact so readers will fall into the trap of good solid facts or an idea disguised as a fact, such as “in the beginning, God created heaven and earth...”

New research from the Newspaper Association of America reveals that eight in ten U.S. adults – 79 percent – took action in the past month as a result of seeing a newspaper ad. In an average week, more than half of U.S. adults – 57 percent – say they have made a shopping decision based on a newspaper ad, whether in print or online, according to a prepared statement on the organization's website.

These findings are highlighted in “How America Shops and Spends 2014,” a survey of more than 1,500 adults conducted for NAA by Frank N. Magid Associates.

Key findings in the report:

• Four in 10 adults have taken an action online as a result of reading or seeing an ad in a print newspaper in the past 30 days.
• Preprints in the weekday and Sunday newspaper move consumers—not just self-described newspaper readers—to act in a variety of ways. Nearly eight in 10 (78%) adults have taken some action in the past 30 days from an ad in a circular appearing in the newspaper  package.
• Of the 51% who sought out circulars online in the past 30 days, more than eight in 10 of them (86%) took some action in the same time period as a result of a print ad circular delivered in the newspaper.
• Newspapers are the leading medium consumers use for coupons. Seven in 10 (69%) cite the Sunday or weekday editions as coupon sources.

Don't believe everything you read.