This is a bit text heavy – but struggle on!
Without going through each title line by line the topline data can be summarised as follows:
Papers no longer having a figure for July Dec 2009 are not necessarily defunct, many have opted out of the ABC audit for their own individual reasons.
In July/Dec 2009 four publications have joined the audit and four opted out.
Like for like sales show that they are down 33,000 or 7% on 2008 and 53,000 or 11% on 2007.
Of the papers under the audit there are still 435,000 papers sold every week and possibly close to that again for papers not in the audit.
Regional newspapers are still hugely popular – not in the larger cities and towns who would be better serviced with television as perhaps a more savvy radio medium. Dublin does not ‘do’ regional’ or perhaps it should be better termed ‘local’ press.
Local papers have a massive commodity that they don’t exploit – local news. A quick look at this post and some of their websites will confirm that point.
In terms of selling themselves, not to the local community, but to a wider press buying public, they border on useless.
A case in point are some papers, on the list below, who make the decision to have their sales independently verified, go through the whole ABC audit process, have those figures published through the ABC – and then don’t put them on their own web site – a hanging offence. Although its marginally better than one local paper website who, in 2010, use their ABC for Jan June 2007 as a “selling point” on the site.
Taking 2009 on 2008 the biggest fallers are the Limerick Leader and Western People.
One issue borne out again in these figures is that, geographically, the Leinster local papers suffered higher casualty rates than other regions. But more specifically papers with a closer proximity to the Capital.
Is it due to a lack of movement with less travel due to unemployment? Foreign Nationals returning home (difficult to suggest that they latched ion to local papers on their arrival)? Is the area around Dublin harder hit economically?
One interesting point: We researched some retail aspects of the Local press about two years back and one issue was very apparent. As rural shops closed and they were not replaced, those previous sales of local papers were, in the main, lost for good. With a spate of retail closures in the last two years, this has to be having an adverse effect on local press sales.
Local papers have a lot to bring and give to a local community. If they could have a cohesive platform and a single lobbying voice they might get a bigger slice of the advertising pie.
Paper | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2009/2008 | 2009/2007 |
Bray People | 5,736 | 4,848 | 4,627 | -221 | -1,109 |
Carlow People | 4,686 | 4,551 | 4,786 | 235 | 100 |
Clare Champion | 19,539 | 19,046 | 17,969 | -1,077 | -1,570 |
Connacht Sentinel | 5,757 | 5,349 | -408 | ||
Connacht Tribune | 24,598 | 23,279 | -1,319 | ||
Donegal Democrat (Thurs) | 13,060 | 12,217 | 11,120 | -1,097 | -1,940 |
Donegal Democrat (Tues) | 9,580 | 8,467 | 8,009 | -458 | -1,571 |
Donegal News Friday | 12,091 | 11,786 | 11,465 | -321 | -626 |
Donegal News Monday | 3,734 | 3,874 | 3,833 | -41 | 99 |
Donegal on Sunday | 3,894 | 3,797 | -97 | 3,797 | |
Donegal Post | 5,191 | 4,810 | 4,085 | -725 | -1,106 |
Drogheda Independent | 10,328 | 9,428 | 8,067 | -1,361 | -2,261 |
Dundalk Democrat | 6,496 | 6,288 | -208 | 6,288 | |
Enniscorthy Guardian | 7,521 | 7,366 | 7,104 | -262 | -417 |
Fingal Independent | 5,302 | 5,106 | 4,343 | -763 | -959 |
Foinse | 4,152 | 3,746 | -4,152 | ||
Galway Advertiser (free) | 32,194 | 34,795 | 30,090 | 2,601 | -2,104 |
Galway Independent (free) | 24,610 | 24,643 | 25,590 | 33 | 0% |
Inish Times | 6,224 | 5,942 | 5,399 | -543 | -825 |
Kilkenny Advertiser | 7,997 | ||||
Kilkenny People | 16,113 | 15,217 | 14,458 | -759 | -1,655 |
Leinster & Offaly Express | 15,318 | 15,190 | 14,131 | -1,059 | -1,187 |
Leinster Leader | 12,100 | 10,775 | 9,238 | -1,537 | -2,862 |
Leitrim Observer | 8,386 | 8,013 | 8,038 | 25 | -348 |
Leitrim Post | 4,923 | ||||
Limerick Leader (Weekend) | 21,619 | 20,714 | 17,921 | -2,793 | -3,698 |
Limerick Post | 15,113 | 15,073 | 17,450 | -40 | 2,337 |
Longford Leader | 9,485 | 8,828 | 8,527 | -301 | -958 |
Meath Chronicle | 16,010 | 14,651 | 12,704 | -1,947 | -3,306 |
Midland Tribune | 10,105 | 9,914 | -10,105 | ||
Mullingar Advertiser | 5,701 | ||||
Munster Express | 10,849 | 9,329 | 7,520 | -1,809 | -3,329 |
Nationalist & Munster Ad | 14,106 | 13,328 | 12,063 | -1,265 | -2,043 |
Nenagh Guardian | 8,134 | 8,051 | 7,817 | -234 | -317 |
New Ross Standard | 6,384 | 6,156 | 5,955 | -201 | -429 |
Roscommon Herald | 9,185 | 8,737 | 8,410 | -327 | -775 |
Sligo Champion | 12,108 | 11,353 | 10,307 | -1,046 | -1,801 |
Sligo Weekender | 7,904 | 7,509 | 6,491 | -1,018 | -1,413 |
The Anglo Celt | 14,713 | 13,783 | 13,305 | -478 | -1,408 |
The Argus | 11,507 | 10,794 | 9,948 | -846 | -1,559 |
The Clare People | 12,250 | 12,154 | 10,231 | -1,923 | -2,019 |
The Corkman | 8,247 | 7,891 | 7,527 | -364 | -720 |
The Echo (Tallaght ) | 9,741 | 7,829 | -9,741 | ||
The Kerryman | 26,392 | 24,451 | 23,137 | -1,314 | -3,255 |
The Nationalist | 14,696 | ||||
The Mayo News | 10,569 | 10,229 | -10,569 | ||
The Tuam Herald | 9,514 | 9,419 | 9,215 | -204 | -299 |
Tipperary Star | 9,223 | 9,104 | 8,335 | -769 | -888 |
Western People | 19,289 | 18,242 | 16,271 | -1,971 | -3,018 |
Westmeath Examiner | 9,273 | 8,519 | 7,010 | -1,509 | -2,263 |
Wexford People | 12,863 | 12,587 | 12,094 | -493 | -769 |
Wicklow People | 13,122 | 12,158 | 11,191 | -967 | -1,931 |
Totals | 553,925 | 511,013 | 507,811 | ||
Like for Like | 489,003 | 468,905 | 435,781 | -33,124 | -53,222 |
Change on 2009 | -7% | -11% |