Market Outlook
24 Years Experience in Print Media Transactions
Vol.19, No.1

Transaction Activity Improves with Economy

Now that a dismal 2009 is behind us we’re beginning to see signs of life in the southwest part of the country relative to newspaper transactions. Unfortunately, transaction activity is not as positive in other parts of the country.

We are seeing more qualified buyers begin to surface. They still are somewhat selective, but not to the degree that they were this time last year.

The publicity surrounding the fact that several metro newspapers closed in 2009 hasn’t helped community newspapers. Many investors and bankers painted community newspapers with the same brush as the metros.

Metro newspapers continue to have problems. The fact remains that the community newspaper business is in many ways a different industry.

That ties in with research conducted by the National Newspaper Association.

According to that research, there are 8,000 community newspapers in the United States and 86,000,000 residents served by those newspapers depend on their local paper for information.

It also reveals that readers share their community newspaper with 2.36 additional readers. Also, local newspaper readers are 10 times more likely to get their news from their community newspaper than from the internet.

Community residents are interested in school news, local government news and local social news.

That type of news is available in the local newspaper that has a local focus and local employees. It is not readily available on the internet, in the metro paper, or direct mail, radio or TV.