The
1999 Editor and Marketeer Conference and Exhibition: Female Readership:
Challenges and Opportunities
If
there was ever any doubt that newspapers are principally a 'male'
medium, a quick glance at WAN data confirms it beyond discussion.
In the vast majority of countries, from the US to Japan and from
Western Europe to Latin America, men easily outnumber women as
readers of newspapers. This phenomenon, which is particularly
striking in dailies, is present regardless of relative levels
of newspaper reach.
Though this
gap between male and female readers varies greatly, the challenges
and opportunities for newspapers world-wide are, in some ways,
similar:
- how is
the identity of the 'modern' woman evolving and how can newspapers
cater for her information needs?
- with web
sites such as Women.com luring women away from traditional media,
what impact does the proliferation of media choices have on
overall demand?
- how can
newspapers increase the number of fe-male readers without alienating
male readers and endangering ad revenues from products and services
targeted to men?
- given the
mixed results of existing approaches like supplements and promotions,
what are the best methods for attracting female readers?
