Influential Americans, the "critical ten percent of the population who drive what the other ninety percent think" are best reached through print media.

This is the latest finding from market researcher NOP World which reports that forty one percent of this group are among the nation's most enthusiastic newspaper readers while a third are among the heaviest magazine consumers.

Just fourteen percent of them are heavy TV viewers and twenty percent are avid radio listeners.

NOP has been surveying 'Influentials' for the past thirty years. As a group they are twice as likely as the average US citizen to be graduates and to have professional jobs.

Says Ed Keller, ceo of NOP World Consumer: "In addition ... they are twice as likely to recommend a product — one of the reasons they are such key targets for companies looking to build the word-of-mouth momentum critical for market success."

Data sourced from MrWeb.com (UK); additional content by WARC staff