Newspaper Association Launches 'Smart is the New Sexy' Campaign

The Arlington-based this week launched a "Smart is the New Sexy" advertising campaign that will celebrate the industry's print and digital publications.

“The newspaper brand remains very strong in the hearts and minds of consumers,” Caroline Little, association president and chief executive, said in a statement.

“The campaign speaks to the many reasons people value their newspapers, and to the various platforms through which newspapers deliver that value. It reinforces the enduring draw of our medium among established print audiences, while engaging new consumers who come to newspapers through their new digital formats.”

The association cites a 20-percent year-to-year increase in newspaper website traffic.

The three different advertisements will initially run in print and digital formats in 1,000 publications, according to a news release.

The campaign follows a tough decade for the industry that saw layoffs across the spectrum, declines in readership and a general struggle to adapt to the new digital landscape.

One model that's been pioneered by the New York Times, which offers a mix of free and paid digital content, has garnered some attention.

Ryan Chittum, a deputy editor at Columbia Journalism Review, proclaimed last week that "there's no excuse" for other publishers not to follow the Times' example.

Last year, the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press released a report showing that Americans were spending more time following than news, with the increase in digital news platforms playing into that.

Earlier this year, Pew released a study indicating that the Internet is gaining on television as the public's primary news source, particularly among young people.