[watmough]

What about amongst bored university students?

My first job after lectures and eating lunch, was to read through the Times, Scotsman, Guardian and Independent. And this is back in the day when all these papers were in 'broadsheet' form, not the flimsy tabloids of today.

I might have been the exception. ;-)

[Kadin]

I used to do the same thing, but the papers were free and left out in bins by the cafeteria entrance. I think lots of people will pick up a paper and read it while they drink coffee or eat lunch (even if it's just for the crossword or funnies).

But newspapers are interested, obviously, in who will actually buy it. And I'm not sure that those free subscriptions in college really translated into many post-college sales, at least not immediately.

FWIW, I do subscribe to two papers now, one daily and one just Sundays. The daily is for news, the Sunday is for the coupons. (Coupons pay for the paper many times over if you use them.) The daily was absurdly cheap when I bought the subscription ... less than a dime or so a day IIRC. It won't be that cheap when the subscription runs out so I doubt I'll renew. Most days I don't read it and I feel bad about all the waste.

[sliverstorm]

Yes, but did you pay for these papers or pick them up off the table in the lounge?

The under-25 demographic is especially challenging as half are still dependent on their families and living at home (and thus would be reading the family newspaper), half don't have a steady address, half don't have money for things less important than sustenance, and half don't have space to put something like newspapers. Yes, I know that's a lot of halves.