This isn't your grandfather's way of reading the paper: The Newspaper Association of America, citing a custom analysis provided by Nielsen Online, said newspaper Websites attracted an average of more than 74 million monthly unique visitors during the third quarter of 2009, representing 38% of all Internet users.

The NAA added that those visitors spent 2.7 billion minutes browsing the sites during more than 596 million total sessions.

NAA president and CEO John F. Sturm said:

Newspaper publishers continue to aggressively reinvent their business models, leveraging trusted brands to attract a growing and sophisticated audience in the digital space. At the same time, industry executives have adopted smarter circulation strategies that are growing circulation revenues even though paid circulation numbers are lower. This places the focus where it belongs: Retaining core readers who deliver maximum value to advertisers while harnessing digital platforms to broaden our medium's audience and position us strongly for the future.