In an attempt to understand nonreader attitudes toward the daily newspaper, 576 non-newspaper reading adults were queried in three waves about their reasons for avoiding newspapers. In the first wave, the major findings were that nonreaders avoid newspapers because of lack of time, preference for another news medium, newspaper cost, and lack of interest. In the second wave, typical nonreaders (those low in income and education, the young and the elderly) and atypical nonreaders (those high in income and education, and the middle-aged) were queried about a checklist of 15 avoidances developed from the first wave of interviews. Responses to the checklist were factor analyzed and reduced to five significant reasons nonreaders avoid newspapers: newspaper content, poor eyesight, lack of time, use of other media, and perceived newspaper bias. It was found that typical nonreaders avoid newspapers because of poor eyesight, while atypical nonreaders do not read because of lack of time and newspaper content. In the third wave, nonreaders were defined as those avoiding both daily and weekly newspapers. Four major factors were found to cause this group's avoidance of newspapers: perceived newspaper bias, avoidance of print, use of broadcast media, and lack of time. (Author/GW)