How do people read newspapers?

The idea of defining the audience of particular parts of a newspaper – not a newspaper taken as a whole – still remains a vital issue. In the case of daily newspapers this idea is particularly often put forward because daily newspapers are highly diverse and it is clear that their particular parts are addressed at different readers. In taking up this issue – the perspective of an advertiser as well as a newspaper’s publisher – as a provider of advertising space – seems to be most important. It is presently common to discuss the validity of AIR as a currency in establishing advertising price lists (see K. Arnaa R. Randrup 1997, T. Jansen, V. van den Berg 2001). It was brilliantly illustrated by Ton Jansen and Vincent van den Berg in their presentation at 10th Symposium in Venice by providing the example of a couple who booked tickets for a concert in the first row for ₤350. It turned out, however, that the only available seats were in other rows (farther away from the orchestra) for which the same price had to be paid. The two music lovers were disappointed! Were they right? It depends on the acoustic parameters of the concert hall; if – in row number 29 – music is perceived and experienced in the same way as in row 1 – there should be no problem in fact. We would have similar situation in the case of the price for an advertisement estimated on the basis of AIR if it was obvious that the fact of placing advertisement in first or third section ensures that – each time – the same groups of readers are reached.

Download Paper (PDF)