The Changing News and Publishing Trends in America

A conversation I followed yesterday on Facebook about the lack of information online about Galion's Memorial Day Events inspired my last post about Galion Memorial Day Events and today's post on news and publishing trends.

News and Publishing Trends image courtesy of Pixabay

One of the posters in the group mentioned the details had been in the newspaper, but there was, at the time, nothing on the Galion Inquirer's website. (There is now - it was posted this morning shortly before the parade began.) 

I had to pause for a moment and wonder who actually picks up a paper copy of a newspaper anymore - then I decided to research the topic and find out. 

I love to read, and I follow both local, national, and international news, but I can't remember the last time I picked up a paper copy of a newspaper, and I actually don't know of anyone who does - other than the Facebook guy who said it was in the newspaper, of course.

Declining Demand for Print Copies of Newspapers

While there will probably always be some people who prefer to hold a paper copy of printed information over reading it on a backlit screen, the demand for eco-unfriendly paper copies has declined as technology has advanced.

In 2012, Pew Research noted that only 29-percent of Americans read a daily newspaper, and only 23-percent read print copies, the rest turned to digital copies for news updates.

By 2015, the demand for print copies of newspapers had, as expected, declined even more.

The demand for digital news increases by about 9.8-percent per year while the demand for printed copies of newspapers declines by about 3-percent per year, according to a 2015 report on Statista.

Average Age of Newspaper Readers

Of those who read newspapers, the age distribution is fairly well distributed, according to the News Media Alliance, but, the distribution includes the more popular digital media forms on websites and mobile devices instead of just printed copies.

• The average age of people reading print copies of newspapers is 53.5
• The average age of people reading news on computers is 41.4
• The average age of people reading news on mobile devices is 38.6

Using the Galion Inquirer as an Example

Not to pick on the Galion Inquirer, because it's an award-winning publication as is noted on their advertising page, and I actually have a great deal of respect for the publication, but Galionite is a Galion website and the Galion Inquirer is our local newspaper, so it's the logical example.

(Have you ever seen the word Galion so many times in one sentence?)

• In 2005, the Cincinnati Post noted that the Galion Inquirer had a circulation of about 3,000. 
• Applying the percentage of stats cited by the 2012 Pew Research mentioned above to Galion's population of just over 10,000 (rounded - as noted by the Census) at that time, about 2,900 Galionites would have read the Galion Inquirer per day, but only about 2,300 of those readers would have picked up paper copies to read. 
• (Also: note that the Galion Inquirer is not published on a daily basis while the demand for news is cited on a daily basis.)
• Then, applying the 3-percent decline per year for printed copies, the 2018 demand for printed copies should be around 1916 copies. 
• (Again, this is not published daily while demand is daily)
• (I could not find any stats published on the paper's current circulation to find out how close the math is to being correct - not even on their page for advertisers.)
• The number of Galionites seeking daily news in the digital format in 2018 should be around 5,082.
• The total time invested in reading news in digital formats is expected to be only about 12 minutes per day as of 2018. 
• (Note: The importance of speed and ease of access when such a limited amount of time is invested in reading current news.)

Why Digital News Has Taken the Lead With Readers

There are a lot of reasons people are opting to get news in digital formats, instead of the print copies as noted by a post on the website, Friendly Bits. 

These reasons include lack of relevance, not covering the stories that are of interest to the public, lack of unique content, publishing at a snail's pace in a lightning-fast world, paper copies are not as eco-friendly as reading online, and inability to make instant corrections to stories when new facts are uncovered or typos are found. 

(In other words, once it's printed and distributed, it's there to stay.)

So, how about you? Which format do you prefer when it comes to keeping up with the news?