“Printed newspapers still have a wider coverage than online newspapers”

Print newspapers have seen a sharp decline in circulation over the past year, but still have a wider reach than mobile networks, according to the World Association of Newspapers and News Agencies (WAN-IFRA).

“Newspaper circulation is like the sun, rising in the East and falling in the West,” Christoph Riess, CEO of WAN-IFRA, said at the annual World Newspaper Forum conference in Vienna, Austria on October 13. Key points from the WAN-IFRA survey report include:

- Print newspapers continue to increase circulation in Asia, but decline in established markets such as the West.

- The number of global titles remains stable.

- The largest reduction in quantity is in the number of free newspapers.

- For advertisers, newspapers are more effective and economical than other media.

- Newspapers have a wider reach than the internet. On a typical day, newspapers have 20% more readers than the internet globally.

- Revenue from online advertising is not enough to compensate for lost newspaper advertising revenue.

- Social networks change the concept of modern communication, but the models of media companies relying on social networks have not yet found a way out in increasing revenue.

- News today is posted instantly.

Riess's presentation focused on six key areas: shifts in media use by readers, economic changes, newspaper circulation and titles, advertising spending, newspaper sales, and the internet versus mobile phones.

The WAN-IFRA report has been produced annually since 1988 and covers more than 200 countries. The 2011 report focuses on the 69 countries that account for 90% of global newspaper circulation and advertising. “We focus on value rather than volume, on key metrics in key markets,” Riess said.

Readers access media in different ways, depending on the region. In the US, for example, television is absolutely dominant. In Austria, the internet accounts for a third of readers’ media time, while in Russia it is a negligible portion.

Time spent on print media is limited, especially in developed countries. In total, readers spend only 8% of their time on print media. However, print media attracts 20% of total advertising revenue spent on media globally.

Other notable facts include the rise of the internet and the decline of radio. Media users have reduced their radio listening time by 23% since 2006.

Daily print circulation fell from 528 million in 2009 to 519 million in 2010, a decline of about 2%, as readers shifted to digital media. However, in terms of reach, newspapers reach 2.3 billion daily readers, 20% more than the internet’s 1.9 billion, globally.

Circulation also varied by region. In Asia-Pacific, print newspaper circulation increased by 7 percent in 2010 compared with 2009 and by 16 percent over the previous five years. Print newspapers in Latin America also increased their circulation, by 2 percent over 2009 and by 4.5 percent over the previous five years. But circulation fell in Europe, by 2.5 percent and 11.8 percent in Western Europe and by 12 percent and 10 percent in Eastern and Central Europe. Newspaper circulation fell most dramatically in North America, where sales fell by 11 percent last year and by 17 percent over the past five years.

Free newspapers saw the biggest decline in 2010, with total circulation falling to 24 million from 34 million in 2008. “The free-newspaper boom is over,” Riess said. “In many cities, there were too many new titles. There were newspaper wars. Now the market has matured, and as titles have declined, new opportunities have opened up.”

By country, the highest print newspaper readership is in Iceland, where 96% of the population reads a daily newspaper, followed by Japan (92%), Norway, Sweden and Switzerland (82%) and Finland and Hong Kong (80%). Japan leads the world in terms of circulation, with an average newspaper circulation of 461,000 copies, a figure that most print newspapers in the world dream of. Austria, the second-placed country, is far behind with an average of just 162,000 copies.

In terms of advertising revenue, television continues to dominate, with $180 billion spent on the medium in 2010. Print is second with $97 billion, followed by the internet ($62 billion), magazines ($43 billion) and radio ($32 billion). However, newspapers lag far behind television and the internet in terms of growth rates. Internet advertising revenue grew 22% in 2010 compared to 2009 in Asia, compared to 11% for television and just 3% for print. In Europe, the rates were 14%, 9% and -1% respectively. In South America, they were 31%, 19% and 6%, and in North America, they were 13%, 8% and -9%.

According to Vietnam+