Lee Enterprises Newspapers Report Audience Growth
DAVENPORT, Iowa--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 28, 2008--Both print and online audiences continued to grow in March at newspapers owned by Lee Enterprises, Incorporated (NYSE: LEE).
According to research conducted in Lee's 10 largest markets by Wilkerson & Associates, Lee newspapers and online sites reach 72 percent of all adults in their markets, an increase from 68 percent a year ago.
The printed newspapers themselves reach 66 percent of all adults in the markets over seven days, an increase from 64 percent in March 2007. An additional 6 percent of adults in the market accessed the newspaper online sites but did not read the newspaper, compared with 5 percent a year earlier, according to the research, which carries a margin of error of less than 3 percent.
The audience report coincides with the six-month Audit Bureau of Circulations Fas-Fax report Monday, which showed industry declines of 3.6 percent in daily paid circulation compared with a year ago.
For the six-month period that ended March 31, 2008, Lee newspapers reported average declines of 3.3 percent daily and 1.1 percent Sunday.
Of the 50 Lee newspapers in the Fas-Fax summaries, 23 reported circulation gains.
Nine reported year-over-year growth for both daily and Sunday: The Pantagraph in Bloomington, IL; The Sentinel in Carlisle, PA; the Independent Record in Helena, MT; The Garden Island in Lihue, HI; The Daily News in Longview, WA; The Times of Northwest Indiana in Munster; the Daily Journal in Park Hills, MO, the Sioux City Journal in Iowa, and The Courier in Waterloo, IA.
Five reported gains in daily circulation: the Arizona Daily Sun in Flagstaff, AZ; the Fremont Tribune and the Lincoln Journal Star in Nebraska; the Ledger-Independent in Maysville, KY; and The Daily Herald in Provo, UT.
Nine reported Sunday gains: The Montana Standard in Butte; The Southern Illinoisan in Carbondale; the Columbus Telegram in Nebraska; the Quad-City Times in Davenport, IA; the Herald & Review in Decatur, IL; the Napa Valley Register in California; The Times and Democrat in Orangeburg, SC; The Journal-Times in Racine, WI; and the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
The Post-Dispatch led the newspaper industry's 25 largest daily newspapers in Sunday circulation gains, climbing 1.7 to 414,564. Daily circulation declined 8.6% to 255,057, compared with a year earlier, which included exceptionally strong sales during the World Series.
The Post-Dispatch ranks second nationally behind the Washington Post in Sunday print penetration and fifth daily among the 25 largest markets in the United States as reported by Scarborough Research.
As part of the Fas-Fax report, ABC released print and online audience data from Scarborough Research showing that the combination of the Post-Dispatch and www.stltoday.com reaches 57 percent of the adults in the designated market area, which is the second best reach of any newspaper/online combination in the 25 largest U.S markets.
Lee's 54 daily newspapers have circulation of 1.6 million daily and 1.9 million Sunday, reaching more than four million readers daily. Lee's online sites reach 12 million unique visitors monthly, and Lee's weekly publications have distribution of more than 4.5 million households.
Lee is based in Davenport, Iowa, and its stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol LEE. For more information about Lee, please visit www.lee.net.
CONTACT:
Lee Enterprises
Dan Hayes, 563-383-2100
dan.hayes@lee.net
SOURCE:
Lee Enterprises