Lee Enterprises newspapers experience increased viewership

DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) _ Newspaper publisher Lee Enterprises Inc. said Tuesday its newspapers saw growing print and online viewership in March.

The company's newspapers and online sites reached 72 percent of adults in their markets last month, up from 68 percent in the prior-year period, the publisher said citing research from Wilkerson & Associates.

Newspapers reached 66 percent of adults over seven days compared with 64 percent a year ago. Another 6 percent looked at the papers' Web sites but did not read the newspaper, up from 5 percent last year.

The newspaper sector has struggled as consumers and advertisers increasingly get their news on the Internet. Companies have tried to combat the problem by ramping up Web operations and cost control efforts.

The Wilkerson & Associates research has a margin of error of less than 3 percent.

Lee Enterprises' 54 daily papers have a daily circulation of 1.6 million and a 1.9 million Sunday circulation. The newspaper publisher's Web site reach 12 million unique visitors per month.

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press