With municipal elections just 30 days away, a state referendum scheduled in September and the General (Presidential) Election Nov. 6, a recent survey reveals again just how important newspaper readers are when it comes to campaigns on local, state and national levels.

The new survey of U.S. voters’ media use demonstrates the advantages newspapers hold in connecting political advertisers — elections campaigns and issues advocates — with registered American voters, the group most likely to vote.

The American Voters Media Use Study, conducted by Moore Information and released earlier this year, shows that 86 percent of registered voters read newspapers in print or online. Ninety-one percent of voters who contributed money to a campaign read newspapers.

“Cutting across party affiliations and age groups, it’s clear that newspapers provide a superior medium for advertising that supports election campaigns and drives awareness of the issues,” says Caroline Little, Newspaper Association of America president and CEO.

“Whether measuring perceptions of trust and reliability, newspapers have a clear advantage in reaching and motivating those highly likely to vote,” Little continues. “Campaigns and advocates seeking effective advertising to reach their target audiences need look no further than the local newspaper.”

Key findings of the Moore Information study include:

•Eighty-six percent of voters who cast ballots in the last local election read newspapers in print or online, with levels of engagement holding consistent among voters identifying as Republican, Democratic or Independent.

•Engagement remains high even among young voters — 79 percent of voters ages 18 to 34 read newspapers in print or online.

•Newspapers and their websites consistently outscore other media for being “reliable,” “accurate” and “in-depth” about local civic and political issues.

•Newspaper political advertising is the least “annoying” of any medium. Fifty-four percent of voters rate local TV political ads as “annoying” — only 18 percent of voters say the same for local newspaper political ads.

Moore Information, which specializes in opinion research for political campaigns, ballot measures, corporations, nonprofits and government agencies, conducted the survey for the Newspaper Association of America among an online panel screened in from a nationally representative sample of 2,000 registered voters. Fieldwork was conducted early in 2012 after the New Hampshire primary and prior to the South Carolina primary.

Jack McNeely is Publisher of the Daily Mountain Eagle and can be contacted by phone at 205-221-2840 or via email at jack.mcneely@mountaineagle.com.