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Last Updated: Dec 19th, 2007 - 13:17:15 |
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| *RTE’s Health Correspondent Fergal Bowers is an outstanding example of an individual journalist who does make a difference. He won a 2001 National Media Award for his work in uncovering the nursing home subvention scandal |
In a week dominated by news of the official report into the illegal charging of patients at Irish nursing homes since 1976, there apparently wasn’t much soul-searching in the mainstream Irish media as to why another huge story of consequence to the public was missed for so long?*
Following a report two weeks ago, which showed that Irish newspaper circulation was at best stagnating in a country of rising incomes and population, this was a week for the newspaper industry to crow even where some publications lost circulation.
The latest research on newspaper readership was published. It is based on readership by any adult aged 15+ and shows that 91.4 percent of Irish adults read a newspaper – at least 2 minutes spent on a particular publication – so one is a newspaper reader by simply checking the time of a TV programme.
| |
1999 |
2004 |
| |
Circulation |
Readership |
Circulation |
Readership |
| Evening Herald |
108,000 |
367,000 |
88,284 |
348,000 |
| Sunday Business Post |
49,000 |
130,000 |
48,639 |
173,000 |
| Irish Times |
113,000 |
285,000 |
114,528 |
323,000 |
| Irish Independent |
166,000 |
612,000 |
171,910 |
612,000 |
| Sunday Tribune |
84,000 |
244,000 |
79,769 |
237,000 |
| Sunday Independent |
316,000 |
1,053,000 |
291,323 |
1,075,000 |
Source: National Newspapers of Ireland (NNI)
The readership data should be taken with a good pinch of salt. While it is dubious enough to claim that each sold copy of a morning newspaper is read on average by 3 people – some copies would have multiple readers in workplaces, a similar ratio for an evening paper, simply isn’t credible.
The Sunday Business Post highlighted an increase of 9 percent in its readership despite a recent fall in circulation. The reliability of the readership data is illustrated in the table above, which shows that the paper’s circulation has remained static since 1999, while its readership has climbed from 130,000 to 173,000!
In welcoming the readership figures, the Irish Independent didn’t spare the superlatives:
In this, our centenary year, it is perhaps only fitting that we should be proud to announce this morning the biggest readership rise of any Irish newspaper - daily or Sunday - year on year. It's
80,000
extra readers a day.
This brings our overall daily readership to a massive
612,000
readers a day.
The Irish Independent now has almost 90pc more readers than the stagnating Irish Times, compared to 66pc one year ago. This dramatic readership increase, following on the back of the very strong circulation numbers announced last week, further endorses the ground breaking success of the Irish Independent Compact.
In welcoming 80,000 new readers to the Irish Independent we are particularly delighted that almost 70pc are in the younger age bracket of 19 - 40 years old.
These latest figures come from the industry's Joint National Readership Survey (JNRS) issued last night.
The sustained strength of Irish Independent sales demonstrates the popularity of both the broadsheet and compact versions of the paper which has been recognised as an outstanding success in the industry.
It has been a year of major news stories. We were stunned at the power of the devastating Sri Lankan tsunami, fascinated at the Charles and Camilla wedding plans and shocked at the €38m bank robbery in Belfast which rocked the Peace Process.
We now outstrip the COMBINED readership of both the Irish Times and the Irish Examiner by almost 70,000 copies a day.
And our new readership figures knock into a cocked hat the audiences of the cream of Irish radio.
At 612,000 readers we dwarf Morning Ireland (476,000 listeners), Gerry Ryan (382,000), Marion Finucane (357,000), Pat Kenny (301,000) and Ryan Tubridy (243,000).
The Irish Independent, the best for news, for sports, for business and for features. And of course, the best readership.
Leaving aside the fascination with Charles and Camilla, the real news is that the Irish Independent had 612,000 readers in 1999 (see above table).
The Republic’s population has grown by 14.6% in the period 1991-2004 while the sale of Irish daily newspapers (including the Daily Star which is produced by a joint venture between Independent News and Media and Express Newspapers) has fallen by 7.5%. The combination of a population increase and a significant rise in incomes has failed to stem a trend of falling sales in the developed world.
In Europe the sale of newspapers has fallen 10% (paid-excluding free newspapers) since 1994. US daily newspaper circulation has fallen 6.5% in the same period. According to the World Association of Newspapers, over the five years 1999-2003, circulation declined in: Austria -12.9%; Belgium -5.5%; Denmark -9.6%; Finland -2.7%; France -4.98%; Germany -8.1%; Greece -8.0%; Ireland -3.8%; Luxembourg -7.12%; Netherlands -6.2%; Portugal -16.76%; Sweden -1.3%; and the United Kingdom -3.4%.
© Copyright 2007 by Finfacts.com
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