SURPRISE: Newspaper readership remains strong among all adults

By JOE B. COATES, Publisher

At least once a week I get a question from someone asking me how the Courier has fared in the online age.  Usually the question leads to another one about how much longer printed
newspapers in general will be around.  “Kids don’t read newspapers, only old folks do,” is a remark I hear quite often.  “You can find most of it on the internet,” is another one.  And, “printed newspapers will be gone in 10 years.”

I disagree strongly with the last comment, but yes, you can find lots of our stories on our website. And kids do read newspapers.

A recent survey conducted by the Mississippi Press Association, Advertising and Media Use in Mississippi, proves that newspapers in general–including your Copiah County Courier–are still enjoying strong readership.  Websites operated by newspapers are even proving their mettle, read by an overwhelming majority of Mississippians.

You’ve seen the house ads we place in our paper nearly each week proclaiming that 7-in-10 Mississippians read a printed newspaper or access a newspaper website each week.  That translates into 1.5 million readers weekly.  Additionally, 72% of younger adults age 18-34 access a printed newspaper or newspaper website weekly.  Weekly community newspapers, such as this one and The Meteor in Crystal Springs, are read by 55% of adults per week and by two-thirds of adults at least once a month.  All of these results and more can be found online at www.mspress.org.  Or, you may request a copy at our office, which we will gladly produce at no charge.

Newspapers will continue to be newspapers.   The platform in which we deliver content and advertising may have changed a good bit in the past decade, and those, like this one, who have embraced it are thriving.  We have survived the onset of radio, television, direct mail, and now the internet.  We shall remain.

The bottom line is this: Your Copiah County Courier strives to cover and print as much local news as possible.   That includes posting stories, photos and videos on our website, copiahmonitor.com.   It drives your readership and our success. 

Our print  version, for those who prefer it in digital format, is available online for $24 a year, by the way, and posted at 6 a.m. each Wednesday morning.  Visit copiahmonitor.com, click the subscribe link and purchase securely through Paypal.

Thanks for reading and enjoying your Copiah County Courier each week, whether it’s in print or online.  And, please, let us know where we could improve–whether its story content and/or variety, quality of photos and artwork or maybe you’d like to see more features–in both our printed and online versions.  My door is always open!