Thursday 17 December 2009

#280: Albert Einstein - would he be a Telegraph reader?

—Albert Einstein

So it turns out that this internet thing is all the rage now in terms of media. Care to take a shot at why that might be? Well, perhaps it is because on the internet you get the kind of journalism you expect when you a buy a broadsheet the main difference is that from the latter you are far more likely to get a full page on the latest woman who claims to have shagged Mr. Tiger Woods while at the same time our "leaders" are pledging our tax money to a £100 billion climate change fund in Copenhagen. You will excuse us then dear main stream media for being utterly fed-up with your non-journalism.

Which is why it is my greatest pleasure to reveal that the UK Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC) are showing a steady decline for newspaper circulation in the UK. If they are not reporting anything what on earth is the point in buying them?

At the height of the decline in September and October of 2008, sales showed a 6.2 percent decline from a year earlier. This figure has dropped slightly every month and sits at a current decline of 5 percent. Popular newspapers have made the biggest improvement in recent months, registering a 4.6 percent year-on-year decline. The daily popular newspapers are faring better than Sunday papers, with a 1.9 percent decline against 7.1 percent.

Price plays a major factor in circulation levels. The Sun, sold for 30p, has pushed its readership base back up over three million, with just a 0.9 percent decline in year to year statistics and is once again the most read newspaper in the world. The 45p Daily mirror in contrast has had a 9.7 percent decline, Media Guardian reported.

The quality newspapers are showing similar levels of decline as the red tops, with a 4.5 percent drop. However, in this sector it is the dailies that are struggling the most with a 6 percent decline while Sunday editions have had only a 3 percent drop. The Sunday Times registered a 2.8 percent readership growth, according to ABC figures, why I cannot fathom.

The midmarket has struggled the most of all newspaper sectors with a decline of 6.2 percent. This comes on the back of poor performances by the Mail papers, with the Daily Mail dropping 6.3 percent and the Sunday Mail 7.5 percent. The Mail had more than 27,000 daily and 16,000 Sunday copies cut from its airline distribution deal between February and March. If I were on a plane I would rip out a good book, that way you will seem more sophisticated in front of all the other prats who are desperately struggling to heave out their think-tank volume books.

And finally what makes me the happiest is that the FT's circulation is down a whopping %14. They sell more copies of the rubbish in the US and Europe and that is not combined. I suppose that is what you get for taking an overwhelmingly anti-electorate stance on pretty much every issue. Try taking the angle of the readers and you might actually start selling again. It is not rocket science you know.

2 comments:

All Seeing Eye said...

I buy the Telegraph and the Times each day, but just for the crosswords. Economically it's stupid because instead of GBP2.30 daily (overseas prices) I could subscribe to the xwords online and print them off - but here's nothing to beat sitting in the bar with a pint and a folded paper.

As for actual news....if you started the whole news industry from scratch tomorrow you wouldn't kick it off with a tree-felling idea anyway, regardless of what you put in them. You'd think of some something online. Perhaps you could call them 'blogs'? Nah, it'd never catch on.

Rossa said...

We gave up our daily paper to save money and having to recycle so many dead trees. We get any news we want online. I call the Daily Mail the Daily Comic now and only read online the columnists I like, such as Richard Littlejohn, for fun and entertainment and Peter Oborne as he seems to have a good take on politics in the UK most of the time.

The rest we make up with a selection of blogs, EU Referendum being visited several times a day and the iconic WUWT for the lowdown on the Climate issue etc.

So some of the reduction in circulation figures must be because of those who choose to read their news online. If we end up having the pay for this as Mr Murdoch seems to think we will then it really will be the end for the MSM.

Love the word verification which is Swore. Mmmm how appropriate is that !!