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The Sun Herald, Biloxi, Miss., Ricky Mathews column: A newspaper's strength is in its readers, and you make the Sun Herald very strong
Dec 28, 2008 (The Sun Herald - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) --
As the president of Sun Herald MultiMedia and publisher of the Sun Herald, I am often asked about the state of the newspaper business, especially after the recent announcement that the Detroit newspapers were cutting back home delivery to three days a week. I usually tell folks the newspaper business is like any other business in this tough economy -- we have our share of challenges. But overall, South Mississippi's newspaper is very much alive and well. We work hard to understand what news and information our readers want and then work every day to deliver what is expected of us. And you reward us with your dedicated readership. A recent readership study says it best, "The Sun Herald's print readership remains very strong."
A tough economy challenges all businesses. Newspapers, like all other businesses, have to tightly control costs when revenues are down. But for newspapers, the narrative is typically extended. The general thesis goes something like this: "The Internet is killing newspapers." What those naysayers too often fail to say is that the Internet sites our readers most often go to are our newspaper sites. They also don't seem to appreciate that many of the people who visit our newspaper sites are also print readers. These regular readers see the online newspaper site as a place to go during the day while they are at work to get more news that is happening during the day. But they still wake up to their morning printed edition of the Sun Herald.
The communities that make up South Mississippi are typical of America in many respects, but there is a very significant difference: We were ground zero for Hurricane Katrina, the worst natural disaster in American history. That distinction has made many South Mississippians even more interested in news. And as South Mississippi's newspaper, the Sun Herald covers the news of this area from the Louisiana line to the Alabama line. Our political reporting from our state capital in Jackson is some of the best. We were awarded a Pulitzer Gold Medal for Public Service for our coverage of Hurricane Katrina. But some of our best reporting has been since we accepted that award. Long after the national press shifted its attention from our region, we have continued to fight hard to rebuild South Mississippi and cover the issues critical to that effort. Our readers have shown their appreciation for our efforts on their behalf by reading our newspaper. We have the news and information they want and need and they continue to vote with their hard-earned money.
'At or above pre-Katrina levels'
As I mentioned, a recent Sun Herald readership study reveals the strength of our newspaper in South Mississippi. The most important point of the results: Despite a smaller post-Katrina population, our circulation has returned to near pre-Katrina levels, and the overall readership of the newspaper is at or above pre-Katrina levels. In spite the many challenges brought to us by Katrina, and the resulting reduction in the number of households and population, and a challenging economy, our printed newspaper readership remains very strong. Here are some of the highlights from the independent readership study we just received:
nSeven out of 10 adults in the survey area read the weekday Sun Herald in the past week -- essentially unchanged over the past five years.
nOn the average Sunday, six out of 10 adults read the Sun Herald, unchanged from 2003.
nThree out of four (74 percent) adults in the area say they read the Sun Herald during the average seven days. This very high penetration has been very stable in recent years.
nIn addition to fairly stable overall readership for the Sun Herald, readership frequency has also been quite stable: 54 percent of readers are regular readers, relatively unchanged from 2003.
nLike readership frequency, home delivery also remains quite stable, with 82 percent of average-issue weekday readers saying they have the paper home delivered, up slightly from 2003.
An all-time high of online visitors
While printed readership remains very strong, the number of visitors to sunherald.com is at an all-time high. Hitwise, a widely accepted Internet traffic measuring service, confirms that sunherald.com is the most visited Web site in South Mississippi, beating the nearest news provider by more than three to one. Check out these highlights from the readership study:
nUsage of sunherald.com was up sharply in 2008.
nOne in four adults visited sunherald.com in the past week.
n65 percent visited sunherald.com in the past month.
And finally, here are some of the highlights from the readership study that speak to the strength of the combined readership of the printed Sun Herald and sunherald.com:
nIf we combine the reach of print and online, the Sun Herald's total reach is enormous: 79 percent of area adults are reached each week and 85 percent are reached during the month.
nThe total reach of the Sun Herald (print and online) exceeds eight out of 10 during a seven-day period.
We are proud of such results, but we are more proud of the statement it makes about the strength of the printed Sun Herald and the combined strength of our print and online newspapers. To say that the combined reach of print and online is "enormous" is quite a statement by the independent research group, whose results are certified by the Audit Bureau of Circulation and whose board is made up primarily of major national advertisers.
There are many reasons the newspaper industry is challenged these days. And for the most part, it has much to do with the same reasons that all other business segments are challenged: the economy. While I know that some advertisers have experimented with the Internet in lieu of more traditional media, I am confident that those advertisers who wish to reach South Mississippians will continue to see the Sun Herald, in print and online, as the single best medium for getting results from consumers because we deliver consumers like no other medium can in South Mississippi.
Which brings me to this last point from the readership study: "In the advertising arena, the Sun Herald is the information source. Among those who are in the market for real estate, automotive or employment, a majority have read the Sun Herald's respective print classified section aEURThe Sun Herald's (Internet) lead in both employment and automotive has grown in the past two years. The Sun Herald's Web site is also very strong in the real-estate-for-sale area. In the real-estate-for-rent area, SunHerald.com and apartments.com dominate the online classifieds, and have grown in usage in the past two years."
The largest news-gathering team
Newspapers have played a significant civic and business role in the life of this nation, from helping to keep our democracy viable to helping to make cash registers ring for merchants. And I can tell you one thing for sure, our readers here in South Mississippi know we are the source for the news and information they need. They understand that we have the largest news-gathering team in South Mississippi, larger than all other media combined.
We are strong in print and we have the leading Internet site in South Mississippi.
And I am confident that we will continue to grow in service to readers and to advertisers in the next 10 years.
Ricky Mathews is the president of Gulf Publishing Co. and the publisher of the Sun Herald. Write to him at: P.O. Box 4567, Biloxi, MS 39535-4567, or e-mail him at rmathews@sunherald.com.
To see more of The Sun Herald, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to
http://www.sunherald.com. Copyright (c) 2008, The Sun Herald, Biloxi, Miss.
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email
tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax
to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave.,
Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.
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