Qualities The latest 6-monthly ABCs for May to October’92 show 4 of the quality newspapers increasing their circulation year-on-year. The highest increase was recorded by the Independent on Sunday, up by 7% to 400,000.
The Sunday Times achieved a 4.3% increase to 1,194,000. More modest increases were recorded by the Sunday Telegraph and the Financial Times, up by 0.9% and 0.8% respectively. The largest drop in circulation in this group was experienced by the Observer, down 4.4% on May to October’91 to 532,000. The monthly ABCs, when compared to September’92, show a dramatically different picture for the Observer, which revamped its’ colour magazine at the beginning of October. The paper increased its’ circulation by 11.1% to 587,000. The paper itself claimed sales of 570,000 for the first revamped edition and higher sales for the second week, when the magazine carried excerpts from the much hyped Madonna book. These claims have now been affirmed by the latest ABCs.
The only quality not to increase its’ monthly circulation against September was the Independent which fell 0.9% to 373,000.
MID MARKETS Only 2 of the mid market newspapers lost circulation against May to October’91. The Evening Standard fell 0.5% to 479,000 and the Daily Express fell 0.7% 1,544,000.
Today once again recorded a substantial increase in its’ 6-monthly circulation, up by 13% to 532,000. The Sunday Express also achieved another sizeable increase, up by 6.2% to 1,764,000. However, Today and the Sunday Express did not fair so well with their monthly circulations indicating that their recent upward turns may now be levelling off. Today’s circulation figure for October was 537,000, down by 26,000 on September, and the Sunday Express’ figure of 1,723,000 was down by 80,000 on September.
Populars The latest ABCs offer no signs of a recovery for the popular newspapers, with all titles continuing to lose circulation year-on-year.
The News of the World fell by 3% to 4%, 705,000 for May to October and the Sunday Mirror fell by 3.3% to 2,717,000. The Sun recorded a 6-monthly figure of 3,557,000, down by 3.7% year- on-year, and the Daily Mirror recorded a figure of 2,825,000, down by 2.8% year-on-year.
The monthly ABCs for the populars show a similar pattern. The Sunday Sport’s circulation continues to plummet, the paper has now gone below 300,000 for the first time with a figure of 287,000 for October.
General As previously mentioned the Observer instigated a revamp for its’ magazine during October, aiming for a more upmarket image. The Guardian changed its’ second broadsheet section to a tabloid, placing more emphasis on features. David Montgomery became chief executive of Mirror Group Newspapers. His appointment created a storm of protest from MGN staff, who were concerned that Montgomery’s right wing views would be reflected in the group’s papers. Montgomery issued a statement assuring staff that MGN’s current editorial stance would not be affected. Following the appointment MGN’s administrator announced it would not be selling its 54% stake in the group for at least 12-months.
Debates over privacy and the press continued with Lord McGregor, chairman of the Press Complaints Commission, arguing that the press should be given an extended period to prove that self- regulation can work. The PCC also submitted an enquiry to Sir David Calcutt on the future of newspaper regulation. It argued that British democracy would be imperilled and freedom of expression threatened if a privacy law were to be introduced.
