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Nearly 62 percent of adults in Wisconsin have read a newspaper in the last day and nearly 83 percent have read one in the previous week, according to an industry study.
“Despite the economic news, newspapers continue to be the most influential medium in our communities,” said Peter Fox, executive director of the Wisconsin Newspaper Association.
The survey of 1,200 state residents found the share of weekly readers of newspapers in the state was higher than the national average of 74 percent.
The survey showed that newspapers continue to lead the Internet in nearly all categories for readers seeking local news and information on products being sold in their communities. But it also showed the progress made by alternate sources, with a large share of state residents preferring the Web for information on places to visit in the state and nearly as many using the Internet as newspapers for information on job openings.
Those surveyed also preferred television news for information about state government and state events.
More people had bought a product advertised in a newspaper within the last two weeks than all the people who had made a purchase based on radio, television and Internet ads combined.
Wisconsin State Journal publisher Bill Johnston said that newspapers continued to face challenges but that they were often exaggerated even in their articles.
“Journalists are the worst at continuing to say that the world is ending, and it’s far from that,” Johnston said.
The survey was paid for by a national advertising arm of the Wisconsin Newspaper Association and carried out by Newton Marketing and Research of Norman, Okla. It was done over five weeks in August and September 2009 and had a margin of error of plus or minus three percentage points or less.
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