The aging readers of newspaper websites

I'm still catching up on good items that were posted while I was traveling. Vin Crosbie has a detailed look at who's using newspaper websites, based on data from Greg Harmon at Belden Research.

Among the key findings is that newspaper website users are growing older. We all are, of course, but this is collective data. It's not surprising; Web activity by people aged 40 to 65 has noticably surged in the last couple of years.

Another tidbit is this (emphasis is mine): "Nearly three-quarters of users also read the newspaper's printed edition. Twenty eight percent don't, and almost all (25 percent of all users) of the ones who don't those have never subscribed to the printed edition."

Well worth reading.

Most newspaper websites have been riding a powerful growth curve for years ... one that is beginning to flatten. We're reaching the limits of the audience that has a high interest in the current news product. In order to continue growth, we have to look not just at the audience but at the non-audience. And we need to figure out how we can be of interest, and of service, to that current non-audience. That's easier said than done.