Some worthy statistics for the PR (and also advertising) managers who have to determine the balance between hard-copy and online strategy:

"A study commissioned by the Washington Post showed rapid movement from traditional sources to online news consumption. In 2004, 47 percent of respondents to a Nielsen and Scarborough series of surveys said they increased online news use. Only four percent said they had decreased online news use. Traditional news sources showed smaller gains, ranging from 12 to 18 percent, but similar numbers of respondents said they'd reduced usage commensurately, making the traditional media mostly break even with 2003 levels. Things people liked about online news: the ability not to be hemmed in by traditional media schedules, ability to multi-task while reading, faster breaking news and search capabilities. More and more online news readers are spending more time with the medium than they spend with any other medium. Last year, a similar study showed TV and the internet neck and neck in terms of time spent per week, but in 2004, the Internet jumped ahead definitively."

Source: MarketingVOX 25/2/05