One question that we get from clients (old and new) is whether print newspapers are dead. And the answer we typically give is not yet, but they’re heading in that direction. We do, however, encourage our clients to engage display advertising with digital versions of newspapers – and we qualify that by telling them that their buy must be significant, and be in a relevant ad position – like a page exclusive or top-layer styled ad.

The bottom line is that online advertising with newspapers delivers visits to websites – and at a certain investment threshold they challenge search and social ads (Google and Facebook) for click through rate and cost per click. Its important to remember that in search and social you are displaying your ads to a pre-qualified audience. But in digital news display you are positioning yourself in an interruption based channel – people see your ad while looking at unrelated content.

I should add a caveat that ROM (run of mill) advertising in newspapers is probably dying more quickly than placed ads like a home builder ad in a ‘new home’ section. Newspapers may give some brand/message extension to campaigns that have a marketing mix across multiple channels – but as a sole channel, outside of vertical sections like ‘new homes’, I’d have a hard time recommending the print paper to a client.

From an article this week at Media Post it is becoming apparent that newspapers might not go the way of dinosaurs after all. Quoting a survey/study done by Pulse this past summer they unveil some data that would suggest that advertisers may choose to keep their money in newspaper – albeit digital and not the paper/print version.

Here’s some highlights:

- adults 30 and under are 60% more likely to be digital readers than print readers (39%  were print readers)

- average household income of digital readers was $65,480, compared to $53,776 for print readers (this is US)

- proportion of digital readers in households with incomes over $100,000 per year was 82% higher than print readers.

- 7.6% of digital newspaper readers planning to buy a home in the next year, versus 5.2% of print households

Why is the digital newspaper getting traction?

I suppose one reason might be rooted in how traditional broadcast media has handled the onset of social media. You see an inordinate amount of time being spent by television news coverage on items related to social media. Just this morning I was embarrassed to see a national morning show rotfl over a You Tube video of two babies gaggling at each other. And don’t forget the shameless plugs for social media during election and disaster coverage. I’m beginning to wonder if broadcast news has an internal memo that reads “don’t bother reporting real news or interviewing people, let’s just show some video and commentary from social media.  I think there’s an argument that social media is to broadcast journalism as non-scripted shows are to prime time television (hello Survivor).

And I wonder if that’s fostering an attitude amongst enough people that they forget that news is about … well, news. Perhaps that is the opening for digital newspapers – to be a real reporting agency.