Vienna, Va. - An analysis by the Newspaper Association of America shows that newspapers are extending their audience reach beyond the core print product by attracting new readers to their Web sites and specialty publications, redefining the traditional newspaper audience. This analysis continues to demonstrate the importance of applying measurement techniques that more accurately reflect the total newspaper audience. According to the NAA analysis of 100-plus newspapers in the top markets, newspaper Web sites increased total audience by an average of eight percent. Among 25- to 34-year-olds, at least 17 papers demonstrated net audience gains of 20 percent or more. In addition, NAA reports that the growth of the online newspaper audience is reaching an all-time high. According to recent data from Nielsen//NetRatings: * A record number of online users visited newspaper Web sites in September 2006, totaling more than 58 million people (or more than one in three active Internet users). * For the third quarter of 2006, nearly 57 million people (36.5 percent of all Internet users) visited newspaper Web sites, a 23.9 percent increase from the same period a year ago. * Also for the third quarter, users increased the amount of time they spent on newspaper Web sites, with the average visitor spending more than 41 minutes per month, a 10.9 percent increase over this time last year. “At a time when competition for audiences is at an all time high, it is more vital than ever for newspapers to provide information that most accurately reflects total audience,” said NAA President and CEO John F. Sturm. “Data that measure the expanded audience is precisely what advertisers want to enhance their understanding of consumer use across newspapers’ multiple media platforms. Simply focusing on print circulation numbers in a vacuum obscures that understanding.” Sturm noted that circulation figures do remain a viable metric for certain sales channels, such as pre-printed inserts where the media buy is primarily based on geography. The NAA analysis of the latest Fas-Fax data from the Audit Bureau of Circulations reveals: For the six-month period ending September 30, 2006, the average daily circulation for all 770 newspapers reporting for comparable periods was 43,741,174 a decrease of 2.8 percent (from 44,996,002) over the same period a year ago. On Sunday, the average circulation for the 619 newspapers reporting for comparable periods was 47,564,150, a decrease of 3.4 percent (from 49,240,886) over the same period a year ago. “The circulation figures are in range with what we expected as publishers are re-focusing their marketing efforts on adding and retaining the readers that deliver most value to advertisers and make economic sense,” Sturm said. “The other important focus is the conversations publishers and advertisers are having about newspapers’ audiences that cover a wider scope than net paid circulation,” he said.