Newspapers: Hold a mirror to his nose, I think he is still breathing

For all those rubbing their hands in glee over the imminent demise of us ink-stained dinosaurs still clinging desperately to our bundles of dead trees, comes a new report from the folks at Scarborough Research.

Turns out 74 percent of American adults read a newspaper or visit a newspaper Web site at least once a week. The numbers are higher for the demographics that advertisers salivate over. The number is 79 percent of white-collar adults, 82 percent of those with household incomes in excess of $100,000 and 84 percent of college grads and those with advanced degrees.

“Printed newspapers have been trusted sources of news and information for decades, and many newspapers have continued that tradition by successfully extending their brands into the digital space,” said Gary Meo, Scarborough vice president.  “In doing so, they are attracting an audience that has even stronger socioeconomic status — equally upscale with their print brethren, but younger.”

In a survey in several countries, Boston Consulting Group found that online readers are in fact willing to pay for unique news coverage online, but not much. It was found that Americans and Australians are willing to pay $3 a month, while Italians would go as high as $7.

The research found that 72% of Americans are willing to pay for unique content, such as local news, and 61% are interested in timely news content, such as a continual news alert service.