"It all starts with the consumer"

That's the guiding principle behind the Impact study and the Readership Institute. Impact's goal is to understand consumers and the place media in general and newspapers in particular have in their lives. But more than just providing a picture of current reality, it is designed to suggest ways of changing consumer behavior — growing readership, increasing satisfaction, enhancing brand equity — through significant innovations in content and services that newspapers offer.

Results from the Impact study suggest clear ways that newspapers can increase readership.

Read Consumers, Media, and U.S. Newspapers to see the details of the Impact Study's survey of 37,000 consumers and their media consumption. Characteristics of Subscribers, Single-Copy Buyers and Passalongs further studies consumers in terms of how they acquire the newspaper. Then see all the readership opportunity areas in order of potential in High Potential Readership Opportunities and interactively explore how opportunity ranks change depending on the target market with our Interactive Opportunity Scorecard.


Consumers, Media, and U.S. Newspapers - PDF
This report from the Impact Study offers a detailed picture of the demographics and preferences of 37,000 information consumers, and describes their current patterns of media usage — including newspapers, magazines, television, and the Internet.

Impact Consumer Survey Methodology

Impact Consumer Survey Questionnaire - PDF

Characteristics of Subscribers, Single-Copy Buyers and Passalongs - PDF
This study looks at readers in terms of how they acquire the newspaper — through subscription, single copy purchase, or passalong — and the characteristics associated with each type.

High Potential Readership Opportunities
Learn which areas of editorial content, advertising, brand, and service have the greatest potential to increase readership.

Interactive Opportunity Scorecard
Focus on target markets and see how opportunity scores differ using this interactive opportunity scorecard.

Impact Study: Overview Page

Newspaper Consumers: Overview Page