More people reading the Free Press

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 30/03/2011 (5485 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Winnipeg’s population is up and so is the actual number of people reading the Free Press, according to NADbank readership data released this morning.

In 2010, the number of adults reading the paper six days a week paper was 393,500, compared to 389,300 the year before, Newspaper Audience Databank Inc. reports.

With Winnipeg’s 2010 population up to 593,400 from 574,700 in 2009, the percentage of Free Press readers took a slight dip – from 68 per cent of adults in 2009 to 66 per cent last year. But a growing number of readers are checking out the Free Press online.

NADbank reported today that 417,300 Winnipeg adults (70 per cent) read the Winnipeg Free Press in print or online every week, making it the best-read of any major metropolitan daily in Canada.

“Basically our numbers remained stable,” said Publisher Bob Cox. “Interestingly, the actual number of Free Press readers rose in all but one category and overall readership was up, in real numbers, by 1.4 per cent,” he said.

“Regardless, up a couple of points, down a couple of points, it’s all basically a stable picture.”

The number of readers checking out the Free Press online, meanwhile, is on the rise.

“What the figures show is that we have a steady audience that is growing online,” said Cox.

“We are holding our audience better than other media as radio and TV see their audiences splintering,” he said. “We have the best penetration of any major metro newspaper in the country and we’re proud of that.”