Newspaper Sections Survey

Carat Research has carried out a readership survey looking at the effects of the new sections in the national press.

The survey concentrated on four newspapers; the Saturday Express and Mail, the Observer and the Independent on Sunday. Findings show that there is unlikely to be any major change to circulation or readership levels.

Over 25% of the readers of the Daily Mail’s weekend section found it un- interesting, and nearly 40% of the readers of the Daily Express found it uninteresting. The Express also faired worse in value for money; over three quarters of the Mail readers thought it was good value, yet only half of Express readers felt this way.

According to the survey, the Observer now offers better value, while a significant proportion of Independent readers felt the paper no longer offers good value. However, ‘regular’ readers of the Independent say they will be regular readers in the future.

Not all was praise for the new Observer though, with three quarters of readers rating the new magazine ‘Life’ as average or below average in terms of interest, and a third of readers felt that the paper now has too manysections, while only one in ten Independent readers felt that way.

The Sunday Times’ domination of the quality Sunday market looks likely to continue.

Carat Research: Colin Macleod 071 344 0070