Green Bay Readers Notch No. 1

The Green Bay area is No. 1 in gorgeous summer weather and City Deck entertainers, No. 1 in Kansas wide receivers and pro-shop baseball cap displays, and No. 1 as an Integrated Newspaper Audience. The first two are in my humble opinion, and the last is supported by a national media and consumer study. 

Last Sunday (July 20, 2014, D1), the Press-Gazette’s business writer, Richard Ryman, wrote about a Scarborough Research study that measured media impact from April 2013 to March 2014 over more than 150 DMAs (Designated Market Areas) across the nation. Green Bay newspaper readers ranked No. 1. I guess the No. 1 shouldn’t have been a surprise since Gannett Wisconsin print and digital products in the Green Bay area had been No. 1 during the previous year and No. 2 the year before. Our area understands the importance of a newspaper.

To climb to the top of the newspaper pile, the Press-Gazette recorded a market "reach" of 62-percent. This means 62-percent of our local adults read the printed newspaper, the newspaper’s website, or a mix of both during a typical week. In comparison, according to Ryman, the big dog of journalism in the state, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, ranked a respectable seventh with a 52.6 percent overall weekly reach. Considering how newspapers are getting pounded by other media, neither ranking is bad -- though ours is better. Scott Johnson, president and publisher of Press-Gazette Media, was naturally pleased, “Our readers continue to value and appreciate our content and we are grateful to them…”

All this is to the good. I am happy to be part of the No. 1 Integrated Newspaper Audience in the nation. I started the newspaper habit as a journalism student in college and have continued that habit through a variety of careers. Newspaper reading has been a personal and professional advantage. And, I believe, a responsibility of an informed citizenry. If one does not read the newspaper, how will he or she know what is going on? 

I look forward to the morning dose of the world and I expect continued success in media studies in future years since in the past year, the PG has noticeably improved by adding USA Today and other Gannett features to the Press-Gazette. Now the paper takes two cups of coffee in the morning, rather than just one.

Congratulations to Johnson, Ryman and all the other newspaper workers at the Press-Gazette. Together, I think we have the makings for another Green Bay dynasty.