The wealthy still enjoy reading the old-fashioned way: Hard copy magazines and newspapers.

By Dian Vujovich

It made my heart sing after learning the results of a recent poll revealed that those with big bucks still like the touch and feel of reading newspapers and magazines that come to them in print form. Staying informed, it seems, carries more weight than newsprint ink on one’s fingers.

Personally, I  can’t imagine a world in which I couldn’t tear out a page from a magazine or cut something from a newspaper for my files or to snail mail it to a friend. And even though  my income isn’t in that six-figure plus range, I am well aware of the fact that being—and staying—informed in this crazy and fast paced world of ours is more related to one’s interests than it is their income level.

And now, back to the survey.

In research by Ipsos MediaCT for their 36^th Mendelsohn Affluent Survey, and conducted from March through July of this year, 13,800 adults with annual household incomes of at least  $100,000 showed that even with the huge growing interest  in high-tech hand-held mobile and digital devices, print media has not gone the way of the dinosaur

From the Ipsos web site: “Looking specifically at the 24% of Affluents who read at least one of the six national daily newspapers measured in hard copy form, the total AIA increased by 3.9%, to 11.3 million,” says Steve Kraus, Chief Research & Insights Officer for Ipsos MediaCT’s Audience Measurement Group. “Readership incidence of these newspapers is also significantly higher among Ultra Affluents, reaffirming the continued need for an informed, in-depth daily “news fix” among this highly-engaged segment.”

With respect to newspaper and magazine readership, here are some of the results of that survey. But before taking the info as gospel know that all newspapers and magazines don’t have the same publishing schedules. So, according to Kraus, those interviewed were asked  frequency of reading questions. In other words, how often had they had read the last four issues of a publication.

-Affluent Women and Ultra Affluents (HHI $250k+) are heavy print consumers with the highest reach and number of titles and issues read.

-82% of Affluents read at least one of the 150 measured and reported print publications (143 magazines and 7 national newspapers).

-America’s 59 million Affluents read an average of 18.7 issues across an average of 8.2 titles.

-Ultra Affluents ($250k+) read an average of 23.5 issues across an average of 10 titles resulting in reading about 25 % more in print media than others.

-Additionally, television continues to rank first in advertising reach and receptivity, with magazines in second place. Affluents also watch fewer cable networks.

Regarding mobile devices and digital media:

-26% of Affluents own a tablet.

– 47% live in a household with a tablet —nearly triple the figures from 2011.

-More than half (55%) own a smartphone. That’s up from 45% in 2011.

-The most used app categories include games (68%); weather (62%); music (62%); social networking (45%); and books/e-readers (40%).

-In 2012, 4.7 million Affluents downloaded a magazine app, more than double figures from  2011, and  5.9 million downloaded a newspaper app, up from 3.6 million in 2011.

-Affluents  use the Internet an average of 37.4 hours a week–up 14 % from 2011. Growth areas were in social media, entertainment and shopping sites.

More about the Mendelsohn Affluent Survey at http://tinyurl.com/7hwavfq.