Extra! Extra!
Newspapers have seen a steep decline in readership. If I needed more proof of this, then I saw it today. My company recently did a survey of its supporters asking things like; who is involved and why, how much money do they make, and how old are they. And we asked how our supporters heard about us.
In the 18 to 34 year old age group, how many do you think read about us in a newspaper?
Exactly zero. Zip. Zilch. Zed.
My eyebrows raised and my mouth hung agape. Nobody between 18 and 34 admitted to hearing about us in the paper. Wow! Every other age group had some sort of number (other than zero) registered in it.
Well, after raising my eyebrows to the statistic that a respectable non-profit can no longer recruit volunteer help through the local paper, I then equated that to what that means to me as a children’s writer.
Do I write for papers? Have I been attempting to sell articles targeting youth to the local news rag? Um…no. However, the fact that no one read about my organization through the paper tells me that kids aren’t picking up paper to read. Not just newspapers but brochures, flyers, instructional materials. If it is on paper, it gets tossed aside.
Dramatic? I don't think so.
Interesting.