York Region community newspapers widely read: survey

Yorkregion.com
April 19, 2016

If you’ve heard that people don’t read newspapers anymore, think again.

Readership of weekly community newspapers in Ontario is very strong, according to the Community Newspaper Readership Report released by BrandSpark International. The report, conducted in partnership with Metroland Media, found that 73 per cent of Ontarians surveyed have read at least one of the last four issues of their Metroland Media community newspaper.

That rate is 83 per cent for the papers in Metroland’s York Region - the Aurora Banner, Bradford West Gwillimbury Topic, East Gwillimbury Express, Georgina Advocate, King Connection, Markham Economist & Sun, Newmarket Era, Richmond Hill/Thornhill Liberal, Stouffville Sun-Tribune and Vaughan Citizen.

Most notably, just under nine in 10 (87 per cent) younger adults surveyed between the ages of 18 and 35 are reading their community newspaper as much or more often this year than last year. That number jumps to 92 per cent for all adults surveyed.

“I think it’s fair to say that we were surprised at the strength of community newspapers in light of how print in general is perceived,” said Mark Baltazar, vice-president and partner at BrandSpark International. “These findings reinforce how much local information matters to Ontarians. Community newspapers are playing a major role in the lives of the people we studied, keeping them connected to what’s going on in their own backyards.”

Compared to last year, 13 per cent of the people surveyed indicate they are reading Metroland newspapers more often, while almost 80 per cent have not changed their readership habits. Only 6 per cent of the people indicate they are reading it less.

“This news certainly reinforces the feedback that we’ve heard from our readers across the province,” said Michelle Digulla, vice-president of marketing at Metroland Media. “There is a strong appetite for the community-level, hyper-local news that community newspapers, in print and online, are uniquely set up to deliver.”

More than 13,000 adults across Ontario were surveyed online and by phone for the study, which was completed from Nov. 24 to Jan. 31.

The study focused on readership for the more than 100 local websites and community newspapers (including flyers) published across Ontario by Metroland Media. The margin of error is plus or minus 0.94 per cent.