Newspapers Need 100 Online Readers For Each Print Reader Lost

That’s according to calculations from consultant Vin Crosbie, presenting at the World Association of Newspapers congress last week. Between 20 and 100 additional online users are needed because the revenue per reader for a newspaper website is far less than the equivalent figure earned by a print edition, even though online advertising is booming. Print editions of American newspapers earn between $500 and $900 per consumer a year from a combination of direct circulation revenues and indirect revenues from advertising.

“If American newspapers continue to lose 2-16% of their print circulation each year, they will need to gain 40% to 1,600% more website users just to stay even,” he said.

Comments have been disabled for this post