BY Denise Gibson
The newspaper industry has been rapidly changing for over a decade. Print publications continue to shut down or transition to an online-only format. In other cases, the local news is released on a weekly, instead of a daily, basis. Despite these shifts, a new report points to industry success — linked to local newspaper ads and the importance of understanding audience.
What is the Size of the Newspaper Industry?
Last year, PwC estimated the newspaper industry ad revenue would drop from $10.9B to $9.8B between 2024 and 2028. Analysts also projected the digital component of that figure would be about $5.9B.
The most recent State of the Local News report highlights the continuing closures of newspapers — “136 gone in the past year.” And analysts acknowledge the growth of news deserts.
Despite these negative trends, there are silver linings. Opportunities exist to reach audiences with fresh content and to sell local newspaper ads.
Creative Strategies to Succeed
Northwestern University, in its Bright Sports report, highlights a few trends leading to success. The report shows around 300 successful “new local news startups.”
Two important strategies related to success include:
- Moving past the legacy business model
- Understanding the target audience
What’s Different About Today’s News Business Models
Creators intent on delivering local news to readers know the old business model likely won’t succeed. But they know there is a demand for unique content
They are trying different business models. For example, the organization may be employee-owned. These organizations may also be nonprofit and hold drives for philanthropic support. Some of these businesses use paywalls and others don’t. They also sell media space to local advertisers.
Understanding the target audience
Publishers are seriously committed to delivering information that readers can’t find anywhere else. Consumers care about what’s happening in their community. As a result, strategies like “service journalism” work. In one case, the stories point “out local problems (including damaged sidewalks) and then revisit to see if they’ve been addressed.”
AudienceSCAN from AdMall contains profiles on several types of newspaper readers. These profiles can help publishers sell more local newspaper ads.
Community Newspaper Readers – Just over 20% of U.S. adults regularly read their weekly local newspaper, online or in print. Over 25% of these consumers support homelessness/hunger/poverty-related charities and animal-related charities. Let your accounts know that around 26% of this audience will attend a flea market or a music festival in the next year.
Local Newspaper Readers – Nearly 30% of U.S. adults read their local daily newspapers. And 42% of the audience has responded to a newspaper ad in the past 30 days. Your accounts will want to advertise to these consumers as 61% prefer to do business with a small or independently owned establishment.
In the next year, local newspaper readers will be shopping around for new service providers. Around 19% want a new internet provider, and 11% will search for a new optometrist.
The Growing News Deserts
The Medill report revealed that there are more news deserts in the U.S. These areas completely lack or have limited access to local news. In addition, analysts fear that the cuts to the public broadcasting system will further expand these growing news deserts.
An enterprising publication could look at these “deserts” as opportunities. Most of the new publications that have started in the past few years are online only. This strategy allows operators to reduce costs.
Another key opportunity is to offer content that isn’t available elsewhere. Once publishers prove they have an audience, they can sell their media space to advertisers.
In this year’s State of Media Sales, we learned that media sellers are most optimistic for home improvement services and health care services as growth vehicles in 2026. These verticals could be solid opportunities for selling more local newspaper ads.
Summary
The newspaper industry continues to transition. New models are emerging for delivering information to local consumers. As local residents check out what's happening in their communities, business owners have the opportunity to reach them through local newspaper ads.
Photo by Ono Kosuki on Pexels.
