NRS To Broaden Coverage Of Newspaper Sections

The National Readership Survey (NRS) is to broaden the amount of newspaper sections it covers. The decision was reached at a board meeting last week during which representatives from the groups which conduct the survey, the IPA, NPA, PPA and ISBA, discussed its future development.

The issue of section coverage has been a contentious one in recent months as the survey has been found to be lacking in this area. In 1998 it expanded its coverage from 9 newspaper supplements to 21 and introduced a supplements prompt booklet to the end of its interviews. Since then, however, the amount of supplements in newspapers has continued to increase necessitating a more complete measurement of their readership (see Feature: National Newspaper Supplements).

To address the issue the board of the NRS has decided to include questions about supplements in the main body of its interviews and look at ways in which coverage of newspaper sections can be broadened.

During the meeting the board also discussed methods in which the number of titles about which any one respondent is questioned can be reduced. Currently every respondent is asked about 306 different titles, many of which may be irrelevant to individual interviewees. They also announced a study to look at bias within the survey.

National Readership Survey: 0171 632 2915