As online editions continue to grow in popularity for breaking news, readers still rely on print for analysis, which means stability in newspaper readership for Canada's largest four markets, according to a study released Wednesday.

The Newspaper Audience Databank Inc., found autumn 2006 and spring 2007 readership results from Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver and Ottawa-Gatineau show that half of the country's adults read a newspaper on a regular weekday, while 75 percent said they read at least one on a weekly basis.

Readership results of print versions are mostly consistent from the same period the year prior, yet online readership showed “modest growth,” the survey stated, according to a Toronto Star report. In Ottawa-Gatineau, 22 percent of adults read a newspaper online each week, while 20 percent do in Toronto and 15 percent do in both Montreal and Vancouver, the survey found.

Results from the survey period the year before found that 21 percent of adults read an online newspaper each week at that time in Ottawa-Gatineau, 19 percent in Toronto 14 percent in Vancouver and 13 percent in Montreal.

The baby boomer generation are still newspapers' main demographic, while immigrants and women show the most potential for growth, said Ann Kothawala, president and CEO of the Canadian Newspaper Association.

She told the Toronto Star that although online readership is expected to continue its climb, it won't necessarily happen “at the expense of the printed product.”