Survey endorses power of local press

DESPITE the current economic hardships in Ireland, the value and unique qualities of local press were highlighted in readership research results published as part of Local Newspaper Week.

An omnipoll survey, commissioned by the Regional Newspapers and Printers’ Association of Ireland (RNPAI) and conducted by IPSOS/MRBI across the 26 counties in late September, reveals that regional paid-for titles are highly valued by their readers and continue to enjoy the highest level of rural readership penetration of any print media in the country. 
The IPSOS/MRBI poll interviewed a representative sample of people in circulation areas nationwide. Historically, Ireland has always enjoyed unusually high readership of newspapers, much higher than other EU countries and traditionally, local newspapers have been the county and town “bibles”, breaking news and campaigning on local issues.
Given the downturn, RNPAI members were keen to know whether their titles were still delivering what their readers want and according to Clare Champion managing director, John Galvin, the survey results show that papers are still an important a part of people’s lives. “Our readers really enjoy what The Clare Champion offers each week and we are happy with their support and that of our advertisers,” he added.
A massive 76% of households buy a local newspaper at least once a month and 77% of those believe that the price of their paper offers good value for money. Importantly, compared to daily newspapers, weekly paid-for newspapers are retained in homes to be referred back to during the week. Almost everyone, 93%, keep their newspaper for two days or more and 43% keep them for six or more days, with the average overall being 5.9 days.
“Regional newspaper members use the revenues from the cover price, to help fund journalists to investigate in-depth stories in their circulation areas and campaign for causes that readers feel passionately about,” stated Joe Flaherty, president RNPAI at the launch of the readership results in Dublin.
According to the IPSOS/MRBI poll, almost two-thirds, 63% of people spend over 30 minutes reading their favourite weekly, with the average overall being 69 minutes. Men tend to devote an average of 76 minutes, which may be accounted for by extra interest in the sports pages.
This time spent reading is even increasing, with 15% of people spending longer and only 9% spending less time this year compared to last, reading their local title. Although the perception is that young people are moving to the digital age, 37% of 15-24-year-olds and 48% of students said they were reading their local paper more rather than less. Despite the growing demands on time, local newspaper readers prefer to sit and read their newspaper in the traditional print format with 96% confirming that is their preferred choice.
As a source of information about products and local services, the IPSOS/MRBI survey reveals the local newspaper is cited by four out of five people as agreeing that it is the best source of advertising information.
The subjects local paper covers are extremely varied, as they try and give readers information on anything that may be of interest but the research asked people to rank these in order of importance. Eight-five per cent of people felt that the classified section was very important, rising understandably to 93% of unemployed people looking in the jobs section. Entertainment is top of the agenda for 18-24-year-olds with an average 90% thinking this area of high importance. General local news, parish notes and local authority reporting and advertising all score over 75%.