FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Arlington, VA – News media and magazines are still the gold standard for advertisers looking to reach affluent, influential audiences, a new report by the News/Media Alliance finds. That data and more can be found in the News/Media Alliance’s 2025 Market Report on News and Magazine Media: Providing a Trusted, Brand Safe Source for Reaching Engaged & Influential Audiences, released earlier today.
This report, released on an annual basis by the News/Media Alliance, offers NMA members and advertisers an analysis of the size, composition, and spending habits of the news media and magazine audiences, as well as what advantages marketers and advertisers can expect from advertising in print, digital, mobile, and magazine media.
The story told about the news media and magazine industries is all too often one of doom and gloom, but the data within this report provides reasons to be optimistic. The audience for news and magazine content is large, diverse, and valuable, with hundreds of millions of Americans consuming their content each week. Despite headwinds, their audiences continue to grow year over year, and remain on average, more affluent, more engaged with content, more able to influence their friends and family, and, crucially, more likely to take action on the ads they see within publications, than typical consumers.
Key findings on news media include:
- News media reaches 118 million readers, 44% of all US adults, on a weekly basis.
- News media readers have a median household income $8,000 higher than the national average.
- The online news media audience in particular is significantly younger and more affluent, with a median household income that is nearly $18,000 higher than the national average.
- 2025 marks a turning point: This year news media print + digital readers surpassed print-only readers for the first time, showing readers prefer access to both platforms.
- Nearly 9 in 10 news media readers are registered to vote.
Key findings on magazines include:
- 86% of US adults, 223 million people, have read a magazine in the last 6 months.
- Devoted magazine readers are disproportionately “super influencers,” people trusted by their communities who influence others’ purchases, in areas like cooking, beauty, home remodeling, clothes, and retail shopping, among others.
- Ads in magazines are incredibly effective – nearly 8 in 10 magazine readers who see an ad in their magazine take an action as a result.
- Magazines retain value beyond the first reader. The average magazine is read by over 7 people per copy.
- 63% of adults age 18-49 say ads in magazines fit well with the content, significantly more than television or digital ads.
- Readers say ads in magazines are more engaging, relevant, high-quality, and likely to lead to sales than ads in other media.
“The data in this report shows that in a world where users are increasingly fed unverified and unreliable information, our members offer a valuable alternative—trusted, credible, and quality content —with audiences growing more than ever,” said Danielle Coffey, President and CEO of the News/Media Alliance, “News and magazine media provide readers with both information and entertainment they won’t get anywhere else, and they offer advertisers a brand-safe environment to reach these engaged audiences.”
The 63-page Market Report includes research and statistics from a wide range of sources, including MRI-Simmons, Nielsen Scarborough, and more, which paint a comprehensive picture of the value of the news and magazine audience for advertisers.
The Market Report is available for download exclusively to Alliance members. Advertisers and others who are not Alliance members who are interested in learning more or obtaining a copy of the report can do so here.
