Decline in Newspaper Readership

Newspaper readership has continued to decline over the last 3 decades despite extensive research into readers’ issues at newspapers across the country. The root problems go back to the late 1940s, when the percentage of Americans reading newspapers began to drop. The industry didn’t feel the effect until 1970s, due to the growing U. S. population at that time. That changed in the 90s when circulation began to drop in absolute numbers. The problem now appears to be more than fewer people developing the newspaper habit. People who used to read everyday now read less, and some have stopped altogether. More than 80 percent of American adults read a newspaper each weekday in 1964, but only 58 percent did in 1997, according to the Newspaper Association of America. In 2003, an estimated 54 percent read a newspaper each weekday. Most analysts predict that fewer than half of adults will read the paper every day by the end of this decade. Today just more than half of Americans read the newspapers, and the number is continuing to drop. So read my blog instead!!!