Three-quarters of U.S. adults (74 percent), or nearly 171 million people, read a newspaper - print or online - during the past week, according to a new study by Scarborough Research.

The company, which measures readership for the newspaper industry, examined newspaper readership in its recently released Scarborough USA+Study. That study captures media patterns and other consumer behaviors of adults across the country.

The data and analysis indicate that newspapers are still read in print or online by a vast majority of adults in the U.S. daily and weekly, despite recent news coverage describing the industry's financial troubles.

"While our data does show that print newspaper readership is slowly declining, it also illustrates that reports about the pending death of the newspaper industry are not supported by audience data," said Gary Meo, Scarborough Research's senior vice president of print and digital media services. "Given the fragmentation of media choices, printed newspapers are holding onto their audiences relatively well and this is refreshing news."

The analysis of Scarborough audience data not only indicated that newspapers are being read by a majority of adults in print and online, but also that these audiences attract educated, affluent readers.

The study showed:

-79 percent of adults employed in white collar positions read a newspaper in print or online.

-82 percent of adults with household incomes of $100,000 or more read a printed newspaper in print or online.

-84 percent of adults who are college graduates or who have advanced degrees read a printed newspaper in print or online.

"Printed newspapers have been trusted sources of news and information for decades, and many newspapers have continued that tradition by successfully extending their brands into the digital space," Meo said. "In doing so, they are attracting an audience that has even stronger socioeconomic status - equally upscale with their print brethren, but younger."

The Scarborough report comes just weeks after numbers from the industry's Audit Bureau of Circulations found that many major newspapers around the country reported significant declines in weekday and Sunday printed newspaper circulation.

"While Scarborough shows declines in printed newspaper readership, these have not been as severe as those reported in circulation. This is because circulation and audience do not always march in lockstep as they are two different measurements," Meo added.

ABC counts the number of copies sold, while Scarborough takes into account the number of copies read.

And in other news that emphasizes the challenges facing print news media:

The Associated Press said Thursday it laid off 90 news employees worldwide this week to reach its goal of cutting annual payroll costs by 10 percent.

The nonprofit news cooperative said it lowered its expenses to deal with a reduction in the fees it charges newspapers and broadcasters that have been squeezed by the recession and competition on the Internet.

Newspaper advertising revenue in the U.S. plunged 28 percent in the third quarter from a year ago to $6.4 billion, according to the Newspaper Association of America.

Advertising sales are the main source of newspaper income, and that revenue has declined year-over-year for 13 straight quarters.

U.S. newspapers collected $2.5 billion less in advertising revenue during the quarter than they did at the same time last year.