Foundation Update (Fall 2006 issue)
From the Top
Content Counts
Efforts to draw teens into the newspaper really do pay off in the long run.
We at the NAA Foundation long have thought that one way to form a lifelong bond with young readers is through specially designed newspaper content for teens. Early in 2006, we launched a research project with the goal of obtaining solid data to support that belief.
In July, we unveiled a new NAA Foundation study, “Lifelong Readers: The Role of Teen Content,” that shows future readership does indeed result when newspapers publish content for teens, by teens and about teens.
Our 2004 study, “Growing Lifelong Readers,” uncovered a positive relationship between newspaper use in the classroom and lifelong readership. Combined with the results of our new study, this suggests that newspaper use in the classroom and readership of teen content increase the likelihood that teen readers will continue to use the newspaper as adults.
More than 1,600 young adults between the ages of 18 and 24 were interviewed for “Lifelong Readers: The Role of Teen Content.” They live in seven communities where newspapers have offered teen content for 10 years or more. To participate in the study, they had to have lived in their communities for at least 10 years – ensuring that they had been there long enough to be exposed to the teen sections when they were ages 13 to 17.
Of the young adults who read both the local newspaper and the teen section as teens, nearly eight in 10 – 78 percent – said they had read their local newspaper in the past week. Half – 50 percent – said they read it yesterday.
That’s encouraging news, to say the least, especially in times when newspapers are wrestling with how to attract and retain the much-coveted 18- to 34-year-olds. Once upon a time, newspapers could count on young adults acquiring the reading habit once they entered the “real world” of jobs, homes and families. But research shows that people ages 18-34 are reading less than other groups.
An ironic note in light of our study is that in recent years, some newspapers have actually scrapped their teen sections in favor of content that they believe appeals to ages 18-34. One result of this study should be a realization by newspapers that if they direct content to their pre-teen and teen readers, then they can build readership among the 18- to 34-year-olds of the future.
At last, we have some legitimate research behind our anecdotal beliefs about the value of teen content. While there clearly are more factors involved in drawing and keeping young adult readers, this research demonstrates that a future generation of young readers is there right now, just waiting to be reached.
Sincerely,
Margaret Vassilikos
Senior Vice President/Chief Financial Officer
NAA and NAA Foundation
(703) 902-1629
vassm@naa.org
