Readers also rank newspapers below the other media in advertising categories that dealt with presentation. The long-standing connection between daily newspapers and their local communities makes up one of the highlights of this study, but even here, television is proving to be a fierce rival. People turn to newspapers for the things that are closest to them and of the most immediate concern. Only 43 percent and 55 percent thought newspapers fit those descriptions, producing negative gaps of 20 and 19 percentage points. The survey provides a snapshot of the playing field.
Television seems omnipresent in peoples lives.
A lot of people watch television news every day, but there are areas where newspapers provide a service that other media can't compete with. Stinnett says that the study confirmed that newspapers are an important source of news and information for the majority of Americans, but he also points to some basic editorial shortcomings, such as not providing readers with solutions as they point out the problems in their communities. The study will prove most useful for advertising and marketing development. The data will be published in a report this summer. Though its findings do not necessarily reflect individual newspaper markets, Billups says, the report does provide a template for newspapers to do their own market-specific studies and compare their findings with these national data.