Regional press readership has grown to more than 40m adults each week, according to new figures from the British Market Research Bureau/Target Group Index.

The percentage of all adults reading any regional newspaper has increased from 84.5 per cent in 2003 to 85.4 per cent in 2004.

In the past five years, readership of the regional press has grown by four per cent.

Readership of paid-for weekly titles alone has grown by nearly 15 per cent over the past 10 years, reflecting a trend that has also been consistently highlighted by industry circulation figures.

Newspaper Society communications director Lynne Anderson said: “These figures from BMRB/TGI demonstrate how important regional newspapers are in communities across the UK.

“Life is lived at a very local level and local newspapers connect people to their communities. People buy their local newspaper to find out what is going on close to home, searching for news and advertising that is relevant to their own lives.

“The regional press is clearly a powerful medium for communicating with people when they are open to absorbing new messages and information.”

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