Extra, extra!

US newspaper website audience coverage has grown 14 percent, from 6.4 percent for the 12 months ended Sept. 2005, to 7.3 percent for the 12 months ended March 2007.

That online audience growth mitigates print audience losses by 28 percent, according to (pdf) Scarborough Research, MarketingCharts reports.

The analysis of newspaper website audience examined data collected August 2004-March 2007 for 88 newspapers in the top 50 local markets in the US.

Among the findings of the Scarborough analysis:

• Newspaper websites are delivering younger, more elusive audiences, particularly in the 18-34-year-old demographic: "Website exclusive" readership among adults ages 18-34 increased 21 percent (from 2.4 percent for the 12 months ended Sept. 2005 to 2.9 percent for the 12 months ended March 2007).
• Newspaper website readers are also increasingly wealthy and educated:
  • The percentage of exclusive website readership among adults with annual household incomes of $75K increased 33 percent (from 2.4 percent for the 12 months ended Sept. 2005 to 3.2 percent for the 12 months ended March 2007).
  • Exclusive website readership among adults with a with college degree or greater increased by 16 percent (from 3.1 percent for the 12 months ended Sept. 2005 to 3.6 percent for the 12 months ended March 2007).
• Some 70 percent of newspaper website visitors also read the print publication - underscoring the cross-promotional opportunities newspapers now offer to brands, Scarborough said.

About the analysis: All data in the analysis is from Scarborough's local market studies. Newspaper websites included have a local market penetration of 1 percent or greater (at least 1 percent of their market visited the newspaper website during the past week).

A total of 88 papers in the top 50 local markets qualified. The timeframe for data collection was August 2004 - March 2007 (Scarborough Local Market Studies, Release 2 2005 through Release 1 2007).