The study appears to allay industry fears. Photo: Paul Harris
NEWSPAPER websites are complementing the printed editions rather than cannibalising readers, a new study has found, which appears to challenge the belief that the rise of the new media has come wholly at the expense of traditional formats.
Readers regard newspapers and their websites as even more absorbing, dynamic and reputable than they did two years ago, the last time the industry body The Newspaper Works conducted this study of 1000 people.
The study appeared to allay industry fears that readers were substituting one format for another, instead providing evidence that each format fulfilled different needs for readers.
Three quarters of dual users - those readers that use both the print and online editions - agreed that printed newspapers are a relaxing reading experience, while 80 per cent said they use newspaper websites to get a quick fix of news and information.
Although the survey's methodology did not explore how many people had given up one medium for the other, The Newspaper Works concluded that the combination of the two mediums had made newspapers more relevant and strengthened the medium.
Newspaper Works chief executive Tony Hale said: ''Newspapers have a great reputation as the trusted source of news, and the medium which sets the news agenda and keeps people up to date. It's a reputation which has been enhanced by the digital age and, by evolving, newspapers have carved out a stronger and more relevant position in the modern media landscape,'' Mr Hale said.
Brendan Hopkins, chairman of The Newspaper Works and chief executive of APN News & Media, said: ''People had a very one-dimensional view in the past that said newspapers are dead, but they're forgetting the quality of the brand.
''Ultimately people trust the brand. There's this oxymoron called surfing the web, people don't surf the web, people are menu-driven when they go to the web - and we can see [this] with the high proportion of people that type in our news brands - that people do want to go to a trusted source.''
Mr Hopkins added: ''If we can keep the comfort factor there, keep the quality of our print products as high as they are and then keep giving people that surety of the brand, they'll go to it wherever it is - whether it's print, mobile or online.''
The study will come as welcome news to the industry which last week saw the circulations of Australia's major newspapers fall by 2 per cent Monday to Sunday in the three months to the end of 2009.
The findings also gave Mr Hopkins hope that people would ultimately pay for digital content.
The study also found people turn to the different mediums for specific information. For example, if readers want to know more about cars, dining out, real estate and sport they will turn to the newspaper, while readers who are interested in travel, technology, and celebrities and gossip will get it from a newspaper website.
When it comes to providing absorbing, dynamic and reputable content newspapers and their websites were rated higher than other mediums - almost double that for free-to-air TV and radio.
When asked to rate whether the content in any particular medium was more reputable than another, 37 per cent of those asked voted for newspapers, 23 per cent for newspaper websites and 51 per cent for both - all of which had increased since the last study in 2007.
