Student newspapers remain a substantial part of campus media. In a 2016 survey of more than 7,500 people, 53% of student respondents had read their college newspaper in the previous seven days. Other studies measured readership across 550 universities, while benchmarking surveys examined the advisers, funding, and staffing behind student publications.
Contents
- How often students read campus newspapers
- Print and online attention
- What students notice on campus
- Advisers and editorial oversight
- Staffing, school types, and experience
- Funding, advertising, and publishing changes
How often students read campus newspapers
The 2016 College Student Media Consumption Survey by OnCampus Advertising found that 53% of student respondents had read their college newspaper during the previous seven days. Within the previous 14 days, the share rose to 64%. A separate measure found that 56% had read at least three of the previous five editions.
The print-readership study College Newspapers are the Best Read Medium on Campus, from Print in the Mix and Alloy Media Marketing, surveyed 1,246 college students from 550 universities across all 50 states. In that study, 75% said they had read their printed campus newspaper during the previous 30 days.
Publishing frequency was associated with a higher measured reach in the same study. Schools publishing daily reached 92% printed-campus-newspaper readership. Students who read their campus newspaper reported reading three out of every five issues on average, and close to 30% said they read every issue.
These figures use different time windows and study populations, so they should not be combined into a single readership rate. Together, they describe recurring contact with campus news across weekly, biweekly, monthly, and issue-level measures.
Print and online attention
The OnCampus Advertising survey measured how much time students spent with each format. Eighty-six percent spent more than five minutes reading each print issue, while nearly 28% spent more than 15 minutes per print issue.
Online use was also frequent. Seventy-two percent visited their college newspaper website at least once a week, and more than 37% visited daily. Among website visitors, 83% spent more than five minutes per week on the site. More than one-third of daily visitors spent more than 15 minutes per session.
The print-readership study reported a different digital measure: only 18% said they read the online version alone or in combination with print. Because that result concerns the study’s stated reading mode, while the OnCampus figures concern visit frequency and time, the measures describe different aspects of digital engagement.
| Measure | Result | Source and period |
|---|---|---|
| Read college newspaper in past 7 days | 53% | OnCampus Advertising, 2016 |
| Read in past 14 days | 64% | OnCampus Advertising, 2016 |
| Visited newspaper website at least weekly | 72% | OnCampus Advertising, 2016 |
| Visited newspaper website daily | More than 37% | OnCampus Advertising, 2016 |
| Read printed paper in past 30 days | 75% | Print in the Mix / Alloy Media Marketing study |
| Read online version alone or with print | 18% | Print in the Mix / Alloy Media Marketing study |
The print-readership study also surveyed 250 faculty and staff members from more than 200 universities. The OnCampus Advertising survey included undergraduates, alumni, parents, graduate students, recent graduates, and faculty, providing a broader audience frame than a student-only sample.
What students notice on campus
Campus newspapers compete for attention with other media and physical messages. Sixty percent of students in the 2016 OnCampus Advertising survey noticed college newspaper advertisements in print or online versions. Fifty-seven percent noticed bulletin-board posters on campus, and 71% noticed out-of-home advertising displays on campus.
The same survey found that 77% of students spent more than two hours per week with social media. Fifty-eight percent spent more than two hours per week with internet music. At the higher-use threshold, 17% spent more than 10 hours per week on social media and 20% spent more than 10 hours per week on internet radio.
More than 55% spent less than one hour per week with each of several national media formats: broadcast radio, live television, national newspapers, and print magazines. Subscription behavior also differed by format. Seventy-two percent subscribed to an online video streaming service, and more than 67% subscribed to an internet radio service such as Spotify or Pandora. Fewer than 25% subscribed to either a print magazine or newspaper subscription.
These results place student newspapers within a wider campus attention environment. The measurements cover exposure, time, and subscriptions separately; they do not establish that one medium caused changes in another.
Advisers and editorial oversight
The College Media Association’s 2017 Benchmarking Survey had 150 respondents. Twenty-six respondents, or 17.33%, said advisers or student media professionals edited and/or approved content. Another 108 respondents, or 72.00%, said advisers looked at stories only occasionally when student editors asked. Sixteen respondents, or 10.67%, said advisers never looked at content before publication.
The same survey recorded the number of professional non-student advisers. Fifty-eight-point-67% reported one adviser, representing 88 respondents. Thirty-six respondents, or 24.00%, reported two advisers; 14, or 9.33%, reported three; 7, or 4.67%, reported four; and 5, or 3.33%, reported five or more.
The 2018 College Media Association Benchmarking Survey had 146 respondents for its advising-coverage question. Newspapers were the most frequently selected outlet: 112 respondents, or 29.63% of media selections, advised newspapers. Websites accounted for 99 selections, or 26.19%. Other selections included magazines at 45, or 11.90%; radio at 34, or 8.99%; yearbooks at 28, or 7.41%; television at 22, or 5.82%; literary journals at 16, or 4.23%; strategic communications or advertising agencies at 15, or 3.97%; and other media forms at 7, or 1.85%.
In 2018, 22 respondents, or 15.07%, reported no professional non-student adviser. Thirty-five, or 23.97%, reported one; 30, or 20.55%, reported two; 33, or 22.60%, reported three; 14, or 9.59%, reported four; and 12, or 8.22%, reported five or more.
Staffing, school types, and experience
Advertising support was limited in both benchmarking surveys. In 2017, 99 respondents, or 66.00%, reported zero professional non-student staffers specifically working with advertising. Thirty-six, or 24.00%, reported one; 11, or 7.33%, reported two; 2, or 1.33%, reported three; and 2, or 1.33%, reported four.
In 2018, 88 respondents, or 60.27%, reported zero professional non-student advertising staffers. Forty-four, or 30.14%, reported one; 8, or 5.48%, reported two; 2, or 1.37%, reported three; and 4, or 2.74%, reported five or more.
The 2017 respondents represented several institution types: 15, or 10.00%, represented public two-year schools; 1, or 0.67%, represented private two-year schools; 72, or 48.00%, represented public four-year schools; and 62, or 41.33%, represented private four-year schools.
Advising experience ranged widely. Twelve respondents, or 8.00%, were first-year advisers. Thirty, or 20.00%, had two to five years of experience; 32, or 21.33%, had six to 10 years; 29, or 19.33%, had 11 to 15 years; 14, or 9.33%, had 16 to 20 years; and 22, or 14.67%, had more than 25 years. The survey output labeled 11 respondents, or 7.33%, as having 21-15 years of advising experience; that label is retained as reported.
Funding, advertising, and publishing changes
In the 2017 benchmarking survey, 74 respondents, or 49.33%, said student fees funded student media. Forty-four, or 29.33%, said departmental funding supported student media.
The College Media Review volume 51 survey for 2013-2014 described a range of operating budgets. Twelve college and university newspapers had budgets exceeding $1 million, while another six exceeded $750,000. More than half received more than 50% of revenue from advertising. The report also stated that advertising revenue increased from 84.7% to 98.8% over 30 years.
The same review reported that papers identifying as independent remained at 12%. In 1983, three-fourths of newspapers were tabloids; by 2012, that share had fallen to half. The share of weeklies was 39 and the share of dailies was 17, both described as constant. Nearly all colleges and universities published an online edition, and nearly half updated that edition daily. In 2012, most generated $5,000 or less in online revenue.
The 2019 College Media Association Benchmarking Survey captured changes during the previous year. Forty-three respondents, or 47.25%, said they reduced print frequency. Seven, or 7.69%, went online only; 6, or 6.59%, discontinued the yearbook; 9, or 9.89%, converged their media outlets; and 26, or 28.57%, selected other changes.
The College Media Review also described adviser roles and employment conditions. The share of advisers with three or fewer years in their jobs fell from 41.2% three decades earlier to just over one-fourth. More than two-thirds had written job descriptions. Full-time advisers reached 40.6%, advisers receiving released time rose to more than half, and advisers in tenure-track or tenured positions reached 40%. The share in positions that do not lead to tenure was 47.6%.
Finally, the review dates the Yale Daily News to 1878 and describes it as the oldest independent daily college newspaper in the United States. That historical description identifies the publication’s stated origin and status; it is not a current readership or financial measure.