In a market where the structure and nature of competition is constantly changing, national newspapers have tried everything from scratch cards to discounted air travel to lure readers. Consumer expenditure has increased by 14% over the last four years, with total newspaper sales estimated at 4.8 billion in 1999. Despite having to compete for people's attention amongst an array of prevailing commitments and leisure options, healthy cover prices and advertising revenue are pushing the market - albeit steadily. Advertising revenue has grown by over 34% in recent years, benefiting from an active jobs market, increased consumer advertising and more colour advertisements. Above-the-line advertising expenditure on national newspapers has grown 53% in four years, with £91.9 million spent in 1998. Are newspapers being seen increasingly as assets in the portfolios of media conglomerates along with TV and other interests?

Since the mid-80s transformation of print journalism, the web revolution has driven communication change, with the consumer able to access current affairs and human interest stories through a variety of other sources. With so much effort concentrated on the web, has the quality of new supplements and glossier sections deteriorated?

· Are national newspapers still entertaining and informing the UK consumer?

This report considers the developments in the national newspaper market over the previous two years. National Newspapers examines how the industry is responding to the information revolution by using its assets to exploit the new market opportunities presented by the Internet. Can the industry work to encourage younger newsprint readership, or does the future lie in Internet service provision? This report looks at the leading publishers and their efforts to find alternative sources of income, such as marketing their own readership databases. With an actual increase in news-stands and magazine retailers, National Newspapers analyses the number of outlets, the wholesale industry and consumer delivery statistics.

Mintel also publish a complementary Market Intelligence Report entitled Regional Newspapers.