Nielsen-Essence Survey: Black Consumers rank AFRO No. 1 among country’s Black newspapers

The AFRO-American Newspapers is considered the No. 1 African-American newspaper among Black consumers nationwide, according to the results of a survey released this week.
Nielsen, a leading provider of ratings and other measurements, recently teamed up with ESSENCE magazine to conduct a customized assessment of African-American consumers. Among the categories they polled was media consumption, and the most popular publications in the Black Press were part of that evaluation.
The AFRO rose to the top of the heap among Black consumers, followed by the Chicago Defender and the Amsterdam News in New York. And, rounding out the top five were the St. Louis American and The Call andPost in Cleveland, Ohio.
AFRO Publisher and CEO John J. Oliver said he believes the ranking reflects the newspaper’s pioneering efforts with regards to digital media.

“I am elated about the recognition,” he said. “I believe it confirms our belief that the digital evolution inside the African-American community justifies our continued use of various ambitious, non-traditional digital strategies to provide timely and often ‘real time’ coverage of news the Black community is interested in receiving.
“Through our Facebook, Twitter and growing Instagram strategies, we are quickly becoming a ‘staple’ news outlet for growing numbers in the Black community,” he added.
The AFRO is part of The National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA), a 73-year-old federation of nearly 200 Black community newspapers from across the United States with a long history of influencing and engaging the African-American community.
Special to the NNPA from the Afro-American Newspaper