New survey information released by MediaPost shows that Newspaper Websites are the most visited and most trusted of online media available in the United States although the business model leaves a lot to be desired...
"Overall, 57% of respondents said local newspaper Web sites were their No. 1 destination for various kinds of local information -- more than all other online local news media combined. The survey also revealed high rankings for the trustworthiness of advertising on local newspaper Web sites. Breaking local content and advertising down into various categories, 29% said newspaper Web sites were their primary destination for local news, 27% ranked them first for local sports, 26% for local entertainment, and 39% for local classifieds."
How do they rate against Televison?...
"The NAA noted that newspaper Web sites beat various competitors -- most notably the Web sites of local TV stations -- across the board in terms of trustworthiness as well. Local newspapers were chosen as the most trustworthy source of local news by 34% of respondents, compared to 23% for local TV news sites.
They also ranked ahead of local TV news sites in local sports (30%-24%), local entertainment (30%-20%), and local classifieds (42%-13%). For advertising in general, 36% said they considered local newspaper Web sites to be trustworthy advertising media, compared to 23% for local TV news sites and just 12% for online portals in general."
The article also notes that having the ranking hasn't helped the industry develop a business model that rivals heritage print revenue dollars...to that end it would be good for the industry to look to models like Castanet.net in Kelowna, British Columbia. Using the ROII calculator and integrating the research and tools from Luce Performance Group, Castanet is a success story in revenue generation as they work towards $2 million dollars in annual billing plus.