Wall Street Journal Recognizes Strength of Community Newspapers

The loyalty and buying power of community newspaper readers are among the attributes that continue to be recognized by advertisers and investors, and most recently by a story in the April 28, 2009 edition of The Wall Street Journal.

The story confirmed many facts about smaller market papers that industry insiders have long recognized. Specifically, that one of the many attractions of smaller papers is their intense local focus and community connections, which continue to generate solid returns for advertisers and smaller market newspaper owners.

Newspaper industry leaders echoed the findings in the financial publication's story.

“Newspapers are too often painted with a broad brush, and it’s nice to see The Wall Street Journal acknowledge the realities and diversification of our industry,” said Gareth Charter, publisher of six weekly newspapers in Massachusetts. “Of course, we are affected by the economy, but community publishing has a very bright future. We purchased a 21-year-old weekly in May 2007 and grew its revenue 30% the first year. It’s up another 19% through (the first quarter) of this year.”

The Wall Street Journal article focused on three newspaper executives who recently purchased or are in the process of purchasing community newspapers. Advertising revenue has remained relatively consistent for many smaller papers, a significant and noteworthy explanation for why community newspapers are continuing to draw advertiser and investor interest.

This story in The Wall Street Journal underscores a message spread by Suburban Newspapers of America (SNA), an industry trade association representing more than 2,000 suburban and community newspapers.

"Community papers, with their hyper-local coverage and ‘news you can't get anywhere else’ advantage, remain the bright spot in the industry," said Nancy Lane, president of SNA. "While community papers are also impacted by the economy, it is often to a much lesser degree than our larger counterparts. And even though the effects of the economy have carried over into the first quarter of 2009, community papers and their related Web sites are in a better position to take advantage of new and bold opportunities, many of which involve shifting dollars from major and national advertisers."

Indeed, according to Lane, LocalPoint Media, the SNA-affiliated national advertising network launched in late 2007 to represent the community segment of the industry, has attracted several new advertisers in 2009 such as ExxonMobil, USAirways, New York Life, Pedigree Dog Food and others that have not traditionally used community media. Just last week, a national restaurant chain purchased an extensive online-only buy using community newspaper Web sites. LocalPoint Media will be announcing other initiatives in the coming weeks that will provide tremendous new revenue opportunities for community papers and their related Web sites.

According to The Wall Street Journal, purchasers of the local newspapers also cited greater consistency of classified ad revenue and a loyal, local advertising base as reasons for investing in community newspapers.

Quarterly financial surveys conducted jointly by SNA and the National Newspaper Association (NNA) support this belief. Based on four quarters of survey results, overall advertising revenue for the participating suburban and community newspapers declined an estimated 3.6% for the full year 2008 versus a decline of 16.6% percent for the industry in general as reported by the Newspaper Association of America (NAA). SNA/NNA financial data is based on responses to quarterly surveys from publishers of hundreds of daily and weekly community newspapers in the United States and Canada, mostly large weekly groups and dailies under 50,000 circulation, representing nearly $2 billion in annual revenue and more than 10 million circulation in each quarterly voluntary reporting group.

Suburban Newspapers of America is a trade association representing more than 2,000 daily and weekly newspapers in the United States and Canada. SNA has experienced eight years of record growth — another indication of the strength of this segment of the industry. For more information, visit SNA at www.suburban-news.org, our media buyers’ resource center at www.snalocalpapers.com and LocalPoint Media national advertising network at www.localpointmedia.com.



(Courtesy of SNA)