Print media the winner, says ComBase

Canadian Community Newspapers Association (CCNA) members will get their first look at preliminary numbers from the Community Newspaper Database (ComBase) this spring, as well as their first look at the price they will be asked to pay for the study.

Preliminary results from the Community Newspaper Database (ComBase) are in and print media is the winner.

First wave results from ComBaseÔÇÖs five-market pilot study show that print media and community newspapers specifically are being read by the majority of the people in the communities they serve. The results show that Canadians in the studied markets read, on average, more than two community newspapers per publication period, in addition to anything else they might be reading.

As well, the results validate the studyÔÇÖs methodology. ComBaseÔÇÖs readership measurements for daily newspapers are comparable to those reported by NADbank.

ComBase Project Manager Elena Dunn will be traveling across the Canada in the next few months, giving presentations on ComBase to the various regional associations. She will give presentations on March 1 in Saskatchewan, on April 2-4 in Calgary, Edmonton and Red Deer, on April 12 in Ontario, on April 13 in Manitoba, on April 26 in British Columbia and on May 11 in Quebec.Dunn will be giving members and other stakeholders a chance to see the preliminary ComBase numbers and the pricing structure.

In the results, community newspapers compared favorably against their daily counterparts. For example, in the readership data for the Toronto area, the weekday Mississauga News has a readership of 75 per cent while the weekday Globe and Mail has a readership of 15 per cent in Mississauga.

More on this story can be found in the March issue of the Publisher.