Online editions not the death knell for print: study

A new study has concluded that “online editions are not the death knell for printed newspapers.”

The report from the Newspaper Audience Databank Inc. (NADbank) reports that 80% of Canadian online readers read printed editions of newspapers, and only 6% of newspaper readers only get their news online.

The survey of 45,939 Canadians from across Canada considered age, demographics, occupation and type of media platform (online, broadcast and print). The most-read content is local news, followed by provincial/national and world news. The least-read content is homes/real estate and automotive.

The report also broke down readership for Canadian newspapers. Here are some of the results:

The Toronto Star‘s weekday readership fell 3.2%, while its Saturday and Sunday readership fell 3.4% and 1.4% compared to 2009. The paper remains the most-read Canadian newspaper, and thestar.ca is the most-visited newspaper site. “We are delighted with the results,” said John Cruickshank, publisher of the Star and president of Star Media Group said in a Toronto Star story. “They show that our readers value the quality of our journalism, both in print and online.”

According to the Toronto Star story, The Globe and Mail‘s readership in the GTA is down 9.7% on weekdays and 7.5% on Saturdays. The Toronto Sun‘s weekday readership increased 33% (although that follows a 21.5% drop in 2009).

The National Post‘s Toronto Monday-to-Friday readership increased 5%, and Saturday readership increased 6%. It’s national Monday-to-Friday readership increased 4%.

“This demonstrates that even as we expand ever further into the digital world, there is still a strong, stable audience for quality print publications like the National Post,” publisher Douglas Kelly said in a Post story.