Alloy: College Students Maniacs for Campus Paper

College publications are still a must-read on campuses, despite growing online activity and the decline of national print audiences, according to a new study.

Conducted in partnership with MORI Research, the study shows that college newspapers are still a top mass media choice among today’s college students in search of campus news, entertainment and shopping info, according to Alloy Media + Marketing.

The study shows that:

• 76% of college students have read their college newspaper in the past month; that figure rises to 92% for daily campus papers (compared to just over one-third of students who read their local, daily newspaper on a weekly basis).
• 82% reported that they read their campus newspaper; more than half of students (55%) reported they’ve read the paper in the last week.
• Of those, considerably more than half say they’re reading at least 3 issues a week, with close to 30% reading every issue.
• 44% state that campus newspaper advertising is information they read and seek out; 73% of readers say they look at the advertisements in their college paper. 13% say they avoid advertising in the campus newspaper.
• 80 percent report acting on the advertising they saw in some way.
• Entertainment related news, sports and current affairs also rank as top areas of interest for students.
• 61% report that they tell a friend about something they saw in the campus paper; 55% attended an event as a result of something they read, while over 40% saved an article or ad for future reference and 36% continued to research products or services online after reading it in print.

About the study: The study surveyed over 1200 college students from 550 universities across 50 states capturing students’ reading habits and preferences as well as revealing data on students’ behaviors and attitudes towards advertising within the campus paper. The study also surveyed faculty and staff members from over 200 universities, providing useful information on reaching another unique demographic across the campus environment.