Arlington. Va. – Newspaper publishers continue to grow their share of the Internet audience, attracting an average monthly audience of 110.8 million unique visitors ages 18+ to their websites in the second quarter – nearly two-thirds (64.6 percent) of all adult Internet users. That quarterly average represents a 2 percent increase in visitors over the first quarter average. The analysis, performed by comScore for the Newspaper Association of America, indicates that this is the third consecutive quarter of increased traffic for newspaper websites since comScore began tracking Web audience data for NAA, in the fourth quarter of 2010.

The figures also demonstrate the high engagement of newspaper website visitors, who generated an average 4.1 billion page views each month. The quarter's high point was reached in May, when newspaper websites attracted more than 112 million unique visitors who generated 4.3 billion page views and spent 3.7 billion minutes browsing the sites.

"Smartphones and tablets are increasing mobility and ease-of-access to newspaper websites, and these latest figures reflect the innovative and successful steps that newspaper publishers are taking to optimize their content across platforms," said NAA President and CEO John Sturm. "The credibility associated with newspapers and strong newspaper brands clearly carries over to the online environment - distinguishing newspaper sites from other sources. When dramatic global events unfold, such as the death of Osama bin Laden, readers look to newspapers first, online and in print, for the high-quality journalism that they provide."

Newspapers websites also attracted key demographics and affluent readers, reaching nearly 25 million 25-to-34 year olds and 76 percent of adults in households earning more than $100,000 a year on average throughout the quarter.

Figures released by NAA in May showed that online advertising generated $807 million for newspapers in the first quarter, a 10.6 percent increase from the previous quarter.