Local newspapers hit hard by digital transition
The transition to digital news consumption has been a challenge for the newspaper industry and many local US newspapers have been closed down permanently, especially during the pandemic, a new fact sheet from Pew Research Center shows. Increased digital circulation cannot compensate for the total decline of circulation; the number of digital readers increase but they stay at the site shorter and total advertising revenue for local newspapers has fallen more than for the overall industry.
The total combined print and digital circulation for local newspapers in 2020 was 8.3 million for weekday and 15.4 million for Sunday. Total weekday circulation is down 40% since 2015 and total Sunday circulation is 45%.
Digital weekday circulation was up 30% in the pandemic year 2020, and digital Sunday circulation climbed 29%. The 2020 increases for digital circulation are the greatest year-over-year increases for digital since 2015. Overall, digital weekday circulation has grown 21% since 2015, and digital Sunday circulation has increased 27%.
Print has falling 55% for print weekday during this time and 54% for print Sunday.
In the fourth quarter of 2020, there were an average of 7.6 million monthly unique visitors to the 46 local news sites in the study, up 9% from 2019.
The average number of monthly unique visitors to local news websites has increased 44% since the fourth quarter of 2014, the first year for which data is available.
The increase in the number of visitors to locally focused news sites has been accompanied by a simultaneous decline in the duration of those visits – a pattern that exists for the newspaper industry overall. In the fourth quarter of 2020, the average minutes per visit to the websites of local papers was 1.8 minutes, compared with 2.1 minutes in Q4 2019. This is a 13% year-over-year decline, the steepest drop in minutes per visit since Q4 2014.
Overall, the average duration of visits to local news websites has declined 41 seconds since Q4 2014, similar to the overall decrease of 45 seconds in the broader industry.
The total advertising revenue for locally focused US daily newspapers in 2020 was $1.07 billion, based on the Center’s analysis of financial statements for publicly traded newspaper companies. This is down 40% from 2019, much steeper than the 25% decline the overall newspaper industry experienced during the same time. Total circulation revenue was $1.1 billion in 2020 for local newspapers, compared with $1.5 billion in 2019. As is also seen in the overall industry, 2020 was the first year local newspaper advertising revenue fell below circulation revenue
Digital advertising accounted for 35% of advertising revenue for local newspapers in 2020, roughly on par with the 39% of ad revenue coming from digital ads in the overall industry. For local newspapers, the share of ad revenue coming from digital has grown steadily from 15% in 2011.
Moonshot News is an independent European news website for all IT, Media and Advertising professionals, powered by women and with a focus on driving the narrative for diversity, inclusion and gender equality in the industry.
Our mission is to provide top and unbiased information for all professionals and to make sure that women get their fair share of voice in the news and in the spotlight!
We produce original content, news articles, a curated calendar of industry events and a database of women IT, Media and Advertising associations.
