Former editor raises fresh questions over newspaper circulation figures
Australia’s Audit Bureau of Circulations is facing further pressure to change its rules on what is defined as paid newspaper circulation after revelations by former Fairfax and News Ltd editor Bruce Guthrie in his new book.
Crikey reports that in the forthcoming Man Bites Murdoch, Guthrie says that “between 50,000 and 100,000” daily copies of News Ltd’s Melbourne paper the Herald Sun are actually educational and event sales. news Ltd told crikey that it worked within ABC guidelines.
The move follows Crikey’s publication of an internal Fairfax memo which raised questions over circulation of The Age in Melbourne and Mumbrella’s own discovery of large numbers of unread copies of the Sydney Morning Herald in a university loading bay.
The issue was featured in the ABC’s Inside Business at the weekend with analyst Roger Colman of CCZ Statton Equities suggesting advertisers were being “conned”. He told the program: “The serious trend that we’re delayed in having in Australia, partly because possibly we’ve been overstating readerships; we might have been overstating the genuine purchasing of newspapers to begin with. And so we’re still, to some extent, conning the advertisers in Australia in newspaper advertising.”
The ABC holds its AGM a fortnight from today.
Fantastic quote from a supposed media anaylst
“partly….possibly….. overstating readerships”
“might have been overstating…… purchasing”
“some extent, conning the advertisers”
It looks forceful but he doesn’t actually say anything concrete at all.
Like many I am not convinced he really understands the difference between readership and circulation.
Having worked in readership research in that part of the world I can honestly say there is nothing being done by the research companies to inflate the readership figures. It is also nigh on impossible for the publishers to control the outcomes of the survey data. It is far easier for the publishers to control or manipulate the circulation figures through fair or foul means.
On many occasions I have had to deal with publishers who have questioned readership data when it shows declines that are not mirrored in their circulation. Rarely have I faced similar scrutiny when readership has risen contrary to the declining circulation data.
I think it is fair to say readership is a more accurate metric of newspapers performance and is far less liable to rort. The reason much of the data between readership and circuation has remained comparable is that this sort of thing has been going on with circuation figures since before readership surveys were introduced.
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Readership is a croc because not all readers actually “read” the entire paper, which is the general interpretation of readership when selling space to an advertiser. A better criteria is to ask “when did you last use a newspaper?”. Weekend papers are used for classifieds, whether it be real estate, cars, jobs etc and weekdays could be bought for say Tertiary Education or the good old TV Guide, just on certain days. So “readership” is a misnomer.
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@ Researcher Sorry to ask a dense but obvoious question. Isn’t total readership a multiple of copies circulated?? Ergo if Circ is skewed because 10% of the circ are actually given away to kids so they can practise Origami and Papier mache skills. Then aren’t readership figures really just a Paper plane?
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@Mugobme
Readership isn’t calculated from circulation, in Australia its based on surveys/polling conducted by Roy Morgan. Which would be why Researcher says it’s less prone than circulation to being gamed by publishers, as the surveys are conducted by a third-party.
However, all the publishers excluding Fairfax are about to switch to using Ipsos for their readership survey.
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Thanks NickE appreciate your feed back.
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Hi Ashley and Mugobme,
Newspaper readership is a measure of whether a person read or looked in a particular issue (asked for each day, and averaged for the week, and also available for each day on the weekend).
They are not asked how much of the paper they read, nor asked if they saw particular ads in the issue they read. Just did they read or look into it.
That is all the readership says it is.
It is undertaken as an independent measure, separately from any circulation measures.
Sometimes, as shorthand, a readers per copy estimate (readership divided by circulation) is used and, as that uses independent readership and publisher-provided circulation data, there is opportunity for publishers to affect that measure.
Otherwise, in Australia, the readership measures are independent of the publishers, who are syndicated buyers but not, at present, controllers.
The readership “croc” issue is a furphy, firstly because the Australian readership measures are actually very good – consistent and reliable.
And secondly because the “readership” is actually divisible into an enormous range of demographics, product purchase categories, and activities, so that any buyer of any expertise does not buy the “readership” but buys very specific target audiences, that they can specify in almost any variation.
Hence, advertising buyers of newspaper space should be able to be very clear on why they are buying a particular newspaper and how many prospects they are reaching (on an average day).
As a newspaper advertising space buyer, circulation is very much a secondary and less relevant measure than the independently measured readership.
As an editor, because readership is measured independently, the circulation is important because that is more in your control, but as a buyer, readership is more relevant.
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I didn’t know about this book Man Bites Murdoch but will be heading straight to the shops when it comes out later in the week, sounds like an extremely interesting and facinating read! Excited about it!
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LAWYERS: If the facts are on your side, pound the facts. If they’re not, pound the table.
EDITORS: Since circulation is never on your side these days, pound readership.
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