50001 2005 Study REVISED

Community Newspaper Readership: 

Sudbury, ON Community Newspaper Readership

Northern LifeNewspaper Readership: 

Northern Life Newspaper Readership What is ComBase? Study Overview Newspaper Readership Overview Demographics How Much of the Paper is Read Number of Issues Read Newspaper Ratings Preferred Community Newspaper Media Habits – Newspaper, Radio, TV Exclusive Readership Cross Readership Reach and Frequency Increase with Multiple Insertions Northern Life Strengths

Study Overview: 

Study Overview Source: ComBase 2005 Two Year Study Base: Sudbury CMA Demo: Adults 18+ Weighted Population: 123,100 ComBase 2005 is a combination of interviews from Wave 1 (October 2002 to June 2003) and Wave 2 (October 2004 to June 2005). ComBase is conducted by Maritz Research.

What is ComBase?The Most Comprehensive Print Study in the World!: 

What is ComBase? The Most Comprehensive Print Study in the World! Both the Research Bureau and the study Initiative of CCNA and its members Stand-alone incorporated company Governed by an independent, fully tri-partite Board Arms-length relationship to the industry Completely funded by 300+ member papers Support from independents & large groups Small & large papers across Canada 400+ markets and sub-markets 25,000+ interviews per wave 50,000+ total interviews 2-year rolling study All provinces represented 1,000+ publications – community & daily newspapers, ethnic, alternative, shoppers, and agricultural publications Title- and market-specific 900+ radio stations Demographics and readership/media habits ComBase = Community Newspaper Database

What is ComBase?: 

What is ComBase? ComBase is the Canadian Community Newspaper Database, an independent research arm of the Canadian Community Newspapers Association (CCNA). ComBase is the name of the study and the organization that runs it. It is an independent company governed by a tri-partite Board of Directors made up of advertisers, agencies and publishers, each of whom has an equal vote. ComBase is the principal readership study conducted on behalf of the community newspaper industry in Canada. Prior to 2003, Canadian community newspapers did not have consistent or accurate measurements in terms of readership. ComBase, endorsed by the Canadian Advertising Research Foundation (CARF), is on par with media research bodies like NADbank for newspapers and PMB for radio. ComBase is now North America’s largest media study, with more than 50,000 interviews, measuring more than 1,000 newspapers of all types in more than 400 Canadian markets. The research provides consistent and accurate, market-by-market title specific information to assist in the buying and selling of community newspaper advertising space. Fieldwork for the initial 2003 and subsequent 2005 study was conducted via 10-minute telephone interviews with English adults 18+. Respondents were chosen at random, with no substitutions. A minimum of 40% response rate and 75 completions for each newspaper distribution area was the rule. Statistics Canada geography definitions were used, comparable to that used by other studies as well extended market areas. Interviews are conducted over a minimum of 12 weeks in urban and rural centres across Canada.

Newspaper Readership(Sudbury CMA, ON): 

Newspaper Readership (Sudbury CMA, ON) Readership of community newspapers in Sudbury is much higher than readership of daily newspapers 73% of Sudbury adults report reading ANY community newspaper 29% of Sudbury adults read ONLY their community paper and cannot be reached at all with advertising in daily newspapers Source: ComBase 2005 Two Year Study *Base Population – Sudbury CMA (123,100) % Readership

Readership Trending(Sudbury CMA, ON): 

Readership Trending (Sudbury CMA, ON) Since the last readership study most Sudbury publications have seen a slight dip in readership Six out of ten Sudbury adults are still reached with a single insertion in the Northern Life Source: ComBase 2003/2004 and 2005 Two Year Study *Base Population – Sudbury CMA (123,100) % Readership

2005 Newspaper Readership Overview(Sudbury CMA, ON): 

2005 Newspaper Readership Overview (Sudbury CMA, ON) Readership of Northern Life is 58% Readership of the Sudbury Star Weekday is 37% and Saturday readership is 35% Readership of South Side Story is 29% Readership of Valley Vision is 13% Readership of Bargain Hunter is 10% Source: ComBase 2005 Two Year Study *Base Population – Sudbury CMA (123,100) Northern Life continues to provide the greatest reach of Sudbury CMA adults.

2005 Newspaper Readership Overview: 

2005 Newspaper Readership Overview 58% of Sudbury CMA adults report reading Northern Life - this represents 70,900 readers Sudbury Star Weekday reports 37% readership (45,800 readers) while Saturday has 35% readership (42,900 readers) South Side Story reports 29% readership (35,800 readers) Source: ComBase 2005 Two Year Study *Base Population – Sudbury CMA (123,100)

Weekday Readership - 2005(Sudbury CMA, ON): 

Weekday Readership - 2005 (Sudbury CMA, ON) Source: ComBase 2005 Two Year Study *Base Population – Sudbury CMA (123,100) The Northern Life weekday edition reaches 58% of the Sudbury population with just a single insertion.

Top Line Trending(Sudbury CMA, ON): 

Top Line Trending (Sudbury CMA, ON) Readership of Northern Life has remained strong over the 2-study period, though there has been a small decrease in readership since Wave 1. This decline is also shown for the majority of competitive newspapers, including the weekday issue of The Sudbury Star. Source: ComBase 2003/2004 and 2005 Two Year Study *Base Population – Sudbury CMA (123,100) % Readership

Demographics Overview: 

Demographics Overview Because of their high reach, community newspapers attract a desirable audience comprised of: Home owners Educated consumers Professionals High income earners Ethnic populations, including aboriginals More women than other mass media

% Reach by Demographic Sector(Sudbury CMA, ON): 

% Reach by Demographic Sector (Sudbury CMA, ON) % Readership Northern Life provides significantly greater market coverage of young adults and women than The Sudbury Star Weekday or Saturday. 61% of women and 51% of adults under age 40 are reading Northern Life. Source: ComBase 2005 Two Year Study *Base Population – Sudbury CMA (123,100) 21,600 49,300 39,700 31,300 9,700 36,000 25,100 20,600 10,300 32,600 24,900 18,000

% Reach by Demographic Sector(Sudbury CMA, ON): 

% Reach by Demographic Sector (Sudbury CMA, ON) % Readership Northern Life reaches approximately 6 in 10 Sudbury CMA adults who own their own home or who are employed. This compares to approximately 40% of homeowners or employed adults who are reading The Sudbury Star. Source: ComBase 2005 Two Year Study *Base Population – Sudbury CMA (123,100) * Full/Part time or Self Employed 13,200 57,200 39,600 31,300 36,900 23,600 22,200 34,200 23,300 19,600 6,800 7,200

% Reach by Demographic Sector(Sudbury CMA, ON): 

% Reach by Demographic Sector (Sudbury CMA, ON) % Readership As education levels rise among Sudbury CMA adults, so too does the readership of Northern Life – 61% of adults with technical/community college education, and 66% who are university-educated, are reading Northern Life. Equally important, the higher the level of education, the wider the readership spread between Northern Life and The Sudbury Star. Source: ComBase 2005 Two Year Study *Base Population – Sudbury CMA (123,100) 27,900 26,000 16,300 16,000 9,400 15,900 10,400 18,200 15,400

% Reach by Demographic Sector(Sudbury CMA, ON): 

% Reach by Demographic Sector (Sudbury CMA, ON) % Readership 56% of Sudbury CMA adults with children in the household, and 58% without children, are reading Northern Life. Source: ComBase 2005 Two Year Study *Base Population – Sudbury CMA (123,100) 22,300 47,100 23,200 47,700 33,100 11,300 34,500 26,300 12,600 30,300 10,700 15,400

% Reach by Demographic Sector(Sudbury CMA, ON): 

% Reach by Demographic Sector (Sudbury CMA, ON) Readership of Northern Life is highest among adults with household incomes of $30K-$50K at 68%. However, Northern Life’s reach advantage is more pronounced in households with incomes above $75M – 60% of these upper income households are reading Northern Life vs. only 35% who are reading a Weekday Sudbury Star. Source: ComBase 2005 Two Year Study *Base Population – Sudbury CMA (123,100) % Readership 11,700 10,800 12,900 10,100 6,100 8,400 4,600 5,500 7,000 5,600 6,800 8,000

How Much of the Paper is Read (Sudbury CMA, ON): 

How Much of the Paper is Read (Sudbury CMA, ON) Readers of each paper were asked how much they read Sudbury CMA adults are strong newspaper readers, reading the majority of every issue! 64% of Northern Life readers tend to read All or Most of the paper 61% of Sudbury Star Weekday readers tend to read All or Most of the paper 69% of Sudbury Star Saturday readers tend to read All or Most of the paper % of Readers Source: ComBase 2005 Two Year Study *Base Population – Sudbury CMA (123,100) **May not total 100% due to exclusion of “Refused/Not Stated” responses

Number of Issues Read (Sudbury CMA, ON): 

Sudbury CMA newspaper readers are loyal, reading almost every issue! 76% of Northern Life readers read all 4 of the last 4 issues 72% of Sudbury Star Weekday readers read all 5 of the last 5 issues 77% of Sudbury Star Saturday readers read all 4 of the last 4 issues Number of Issues Read (Sudbury CMA, ON) % of Readers Source: ComBase 2005 Two Year Study *Base Population – Sudbury CMA (123,100) **May not total 100% due to exclusion of “Refused/Not Stated” responses

Newspaper Ratings (Sudbury CMA, ON): 

Newspaper Ratings (Sudbury CMA, ON) Source: ComBase 2005 Two Year Study *Base Population – Sudbury CMA (123,100) Respondents were asked to rate newspapers in the Sudbury CMA using a scale of “1” to “10” where “10” would be interpreted as “extremely good” and “1” as “extremely poor”.

Preferred Community Newspaper (Sudbury CMA, ON): 

Preferred Community Newspaper (Sudbury CMA, ON) 67% of community newspaper readers in the Sudbury CMA report Northern Life as their preferred community newspaper. Source: ComBase 2005 Two Year Study *Base Population – Sudbury CMA (123,100)

Media Habits – Newspaper vs. Radio (Sudbury CMA, ON): 

Source: ComBase 2005 Two Year Study Radio Stations Listened to Yesterday – Stations with less than 2% reach not shown *Base Population – Sudbury CMA (123,100) Media Habits – Newspaper vs. Radio (Sudbury CMA, ON) Radio is a very fragmented medium. None of the radio stations on their own can claim reach as high as a single insertion in Northern Life.

Media Habits – Newspaper and Radio (Sudbury CMA, ON): 

Media Habits – Newspaper and Radio (Sudbury CMA, ON) Northern Life Outperforms Radio One insertion in Northern Life reaches more adults than the top 3 radio stations combined (58% vs. 49%) To reach the 66% listening to Any Radio Station you would have to buy spots throughout the day on every radio station available in Sudbury CMA! Radio Reach is Limited! 37% of the population cannot be reached with commercial radio advertising: Did Not Listen Yesterday (31%) Listened to CBC Only (6%) Source: ComBase 2005 Two Year Study *Base Population – Sudbury CMA (123,100) *see previous slide for specific station reach

Media Habits – Radio (Sudbury CMA, ON): 

Media Habits – Radio (Sudbury CMA, ON) Time Spent Listening to Radio in Past 7 Days 42% of the population falls into the lightest listening categories (#1 and #2), making them harder to reach with Radio 26% spent no time listening to any radio station 21% report heavy radio listening (category 5) Source: ComBase 2005 Two Year Study – Radio Quintiles *Base Population – Sudbury CMA (123,100) Quintile Hour Definitions – indexed to National Habits Lightest Heaviest

Media Habits – Television (Sudbury CMA, ON): 

Media Habits – Television (Sudbury CMA, ON) Time Spent Watching TV in Past 7 Days 35% of the population falls into the lightest TV watching categories (#1 and #2), making them harder to reach with TV 15% spent less than 2.5 hours watching any television programming in the past week 27% report heavy TV watching (category 5) Source: ComBase 2005 Two Year Study – Television Quintiles *Base Population – Sudbury CMA (123,100) Quintile Hour Definitions – indexed to National Habits Lightest Heaviest

Exclusive Readership (Sudbury CMA, ON): 

Exclusive Readership (Sudbury CMA, ON) 39,900 Sudbury CMA adults are exclusive readers of Northern Life – these adults report not having read The Sudbury Star Weekday That represents 32% of the Sudbury CMA population who cannot be reached by advertising in the Sudbury Star Weekday Source: ComBase 2005 Two Year Study *Base Population – Sudbury CMA (123,100)

Northern Life Exclusive Readers(Sudbury CMA, ON): 

Northern Life Exclusive Readers (Sudbury CMA, ON) 25% of Sudbury adults read only the Northern Life and not the Sudbury Star 25% read only the Northern Life and not other community newspapers* 13% of adults read only the Northern Life and nothing else 32% read only the weekday Northern Life and not the weekday Sudbury Star, 33% did not read the Saturday Star and 43% did not read the Sunday Star Source: ComBase 2005 Two Year Study Base Population – Sudbury CMA (123,100) *community papers include South Side Story, Valley Vision

Cross Readership (Sudbury CMA, ON): 

Cross Readership (Sudbury CMA, ON) 31,000 Sudbury Star Weekday readers report also reading Northern Life 68% of Sudbury Star Weekday readers can be reached using Northern Life 30,100 Sudbury Star Saturday readers report also reading Northern Life 70% of Sudbury Star Saturday readers report also reading The Northern Life Source: ComBase 2005 Two Year Study *Base Population – Sudbury CMA (123,100)

Reach and Frequency Increase with Multiple Insertions: 

Reach and Frequency Increase with Multiple Insertions % Reach (Average Frequency in white) 1.00 1.75 3.18 4.57 5.93 1.00 1.68 2.95 4.16 5.33 A single insertion in the weekday Northern Life reaches 58% of the Sudbury population compared to 37% reach with the weekday Sudbury Star Reach climbs to 78% with 8 insertions in the Northern Life, compared to only 56% in the Sudbury Star Frequency shows the same pattern – 8 insertions generates 5.93 average frequency in the Northern Life compared to 5.33 in the weekday Sudbury Star Source: ComBase 2005 Two Year Study - Average Frequency shown in white *Base Population – Sudbury CMA 123,100 Weekday Analysis

Northern Life Strengths: 

Northern Life Strengths Top line readership for Northern Life is strong against other newspapers in Sudbury CMA Northern Life readers are strong and regular readers 76% read all 4 weekday issues; and 64% read All or Most of the Paper Northern Life rates well among Sudbury CMA adults has a rating of 7 and is the preferred community paper in Sudbury CMA by 67% of the population Northern Life provides higher reach than any single radio station and even the top 3 stations combined in the Sudbury CMA - and Sudbury CMA adults are hard to reach with radio 42% percentage fall into the “light” listening category and 37% cannot be reached at all with radio advertising! Northern Life can reach TV’s light viewers (<7.8 hrs/wk) 35% of Sudbury CMA adults fall into this category Northern Life has strong exclusive and cross readership 39,900 Northern Life readers report not reading Sudbury Star Weekday, but 68% of Sudbury Star Weekday readers can be reached using Northern Life. Source: ComBase 2005 Two Year Study - *Base Population – Sudbury CMA (123,100)