New ranking combines print-digital reach of metro papers, reveals surprising winners

by Rick Edmonds Published Mar. 22, 2011 12:30 pm Updated Mar. 22, 2011 12:33 pm

Which American newspaper reaches the most readers in its market if print and online audiences are combined?

That seems a fundamental question in an era of hybrid print/digital business models. But in preparing the annual State of the News Media report released last Monday, my colleagues at the Project for Excellence in Journalism and I could not find a ready answer.

At our request, Scarborough Research came up quickly with a Top 20 ranking, shown in the chart below.

There is one important qualifier. Scarborough’s methodology measures local markets only. So The Wall Street Journal and USA Today are excluded entirely, and the extensive national audience for The New York Times’ and Washington Post’s websites does not figure in the calculation.

That said, the winner, somewhat to my surprise, is the New York Daily News at 4,562,458. That is just 70,000 more than the second-place Los Angeles Times and about 450,000 more than The New York Times in its own metro market.