By Mike Sachoff – Fri, 08/07/2009 – 06:31
Reach 36% of Internet users

Newspaper websites attracted more than 70.3 million unique visitors in June, reaching 35.9 percent of all Internet users, according to a custom report by Nielsen Online for the Newspaper Association of America.

News paper website visitors viewed 3.5 billion page views during the month, spending 2.7 billion minutes browsing the sites in more than 597 million sessions.

“The newspaper audience continues to expand as publishers aggressively capitalize on their investments in digital properties, adding robust features and launching new products to attract a highly valuable consumer audience,” said NAA President and CEO John F. Sturm.

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“Advertisers who want to reach consumers ready to make purchasing decisions continue to use the trusted newspaper brand to ensure their messages are heard through the crowd.”

The Nielsen numbers come as early data from a MORI Research survey of 3,000 adults, indicates that newspaper advertising remains the leading medium cite by consumers in planning, shopping and making purchasing decisions. More than half (59%) report newspaper advertising helps them plan purchasing decisions.

The majority (82%) of newspaper readers took some action as a result of a print newspaper ad in the past 30 days: 61 percent clipped a coupon, 50 percent bought something advertised and 52 visited a store.

While the number are impressive, it’s no secret the newspaper industry as a whole continues to struggle. In March the Hearst Corporation announced it was ending the print edition of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer and going to an online-only publication. In February, E.W. Scripps announced it was shuttering the entire 150 year-old Rocky Mountain News.