The continued trust in newspapers, and why that's significant to advertisers

Nov 13, 2024

It’s not the first time that research has come back showing newspapers to be especially trustworthy, but it’s still newsworthy all the same.

Kantar’s new US Media Reactions Report found that consumers ranked newspapers No. 1 for trust, relevance / usefulness, and even consumer advertising receptivity.

That last ranking is particularly noteworthy considering what Kantar’s press release calls “over-targeting” in ad experiences, which is “driving consumers back into offline channels and more ‘natural’ advertising experiences like retail media networks and news publications.”

Newspapers were ranked third behind point-of-sale (POS) and cinema with a 42 global benchmark in advertising equity, which MediaPost helps define as “summary metric based on overall receptivity and attitudes towards media channels and brands.” Newspapers were the top-ranked channel for ad equity for males and the third-ranked channel for females, while category influencers from every industry (barring alcoholic beverages) put newspapers in their top 5 channels.

“U.S. consumers are valuing the societal impact of media more than any other factor,” the press release says. “Growing concerns about issues like climate change, social inequality, and ethical sourcing has led consumers to seek out brands that reflect their values. This sentiment is extending into channel preference as well, which may be why we’ve seen a resurgence in advertising receptivity for certain channels.”

In addition to Kantar’s research, America’s Newspapers recently released a trust study to, as it says, “understand and reinforce the unique role of local newspapers in building trust with their communities.” Ultimately, local newspapers and local TV stations were found to be the most trusted media, with local newspapers having the largest contingent (25%) that said it represents “trust attributes.”

“Local newspapers lead in trustworthiness by prioritizing transparency, ethical standards, and dedication to community issues,” the study says. “These attributes set local newspapers apart, reflecting readers’ desire for unbiased, trustworthy news that values community impact over clicks.”With such a significant upper hand, it’s essential that newspaper publishers do everything they can to optimize those advertising opportunities — be it in print, digitally, or both, or course.

Is your newspaper ad sales software helping you take advantage of, well, the advantages you naturally have?