As the newspaper industry is struggling to find successful online business models, the Digital Future survey is exploring public opinion on alternatives to print. The study has asked Americans who read print newspapers where they would go for information if their newspaper stopped publishing its paper edition.

A growing percentage of newspaper readers said they would switch to the online version of the publication if the print edition ceased to exist. Nearly two-thirds of respondents who read newspapers offline (66 percent) said they would read the online edition of a newspaper if the print edition ceased publication, up from 59 percent in 2009. The percentage of Americans reporting that they would look for the same information in the print edition of another newspaper declined slightly. In 2010 it was 34 percent, down from 37 percent the previous year. With multiple responses possible, 51 percent said they would seek the information on television.

The percentage of users who said they would look for that information in other offline sources, such as radio or magazines, also dropped. A growing percentage of respondents (35 percent, up from 31 percent in the previous year) reported that they would seek information in an online source other than the Internet version of a vanished print edition.
__________

If your newspaper stopped publishing its print edition,
where would you go for that information?

(Respondents who read newspapers online)

alternatives-to-print-newsp

 

For the full report of 2010 findings, visit here.

Visit the Web Insight Archive.