Newspaper readerships
February 9th, 2013 at 3:00 pm by David FarrarThe latest Nielsen data is here. Major papers are:
- NZ Herald 531,000 (-39,000, -8% drop in last year)
- Waikato Times 96,000 (+2,000, +1%)
- Dominion Post 235,000 (+3,000, +1%)
- The Press 215,000 (-18,000, -9%)
- ODT 96,000 (-9,000, -10%)
That’s some huge drops for the Herald, Press and ODT. The Herald has dropped 68,000 in the last two years.
Weeklies:
- Sunday News 220,000 (-39,000, -16%)
- SST 432,000 (-105,000, -21%)
- HoS 362,000 (-20,000, -6%)
- NBR 53,000 (-5,000, -11%)
Look at the drop for the SST. That is like an arterial blood loss.
February 9th, 2013 at 3:04 pm
That’s quite odd considering the level of high quality investigative journalism that goes in to Herald articles.
February 9th, 2013 at 3:14 pm
I must admit I haven’t seen an ODT for a decade but unless it’s changed radically I’m surprised it’s lost that heavily. Any southern commenters have any theories why?
Clearly the SST hasn’t changed in a decade judging by its performance. With the notable exception of Ruth Laugesen it was uniformly dull, with a great deal of opinion masquerading as reportage and actual opinion as predictable as porridge.
I don’t subscribe to the view that newspapers are inevitably doomed, and especially not the weekend ones. I’m stuck in a small town with a broken down 4WD and I’d pay whatever they asked for a quality newspaper to fill the next two days till the mechanics open, but even on a normal weekend I can’t envisage not settling down to read The Australian. But that’s because there’s still quality in both reporting and opinion. Clearly News Limited have figured out that cost cutting in the newsroom is merely a fast track to closure. Fairfax, APN & the others could do worse than to mimic Murdoch.
Vote:February 9th, 2013 at 3:45 pm
I have to agree with Archer. It is surprising that people aren’t willing to pay for cut’n'paste churnalism and “provocative” opinion pieces apparently written by teenagers.
Really, very surprising.
February 9th, 2013 at 3:45 pm
No shock with the SST but the NZ hareld dropping that much is astonishing. They are a pest with their doorknockers and circ drives. Imagine if they stopped terrorising doorsteps.
Vote:February 9th, 2013 at 3:49 pm
Thank goodness those of us who derive satisfaction from the cut and thrust and biting satire of real estate ad’s are keeping readership of the Hutt News at record levels!!
Vote:February 9th, 2013 at 3:58 pm
We dump half the paper without even looking at it. What’s left is so badly written, biased and selective it’s hardly worth the time.
The SST is the Seven Sharp of newspapers – dumb it down. It just shows NZers aren’t as dumb as the media thinks.
Just look at the puerile coverage of the Holmes funeral – paragraphs on the so-called celebrities – mainly TV announcers for god’s sake. The friends gave ‘performances’ – whatever happened to eulogies? Millie was beautiful and her brother ‘looked longhaired’ whatever that means. But despite the opera singers, the eulogies, the prayers etc, the best of all was the Karamu High School haka.
Let’s not even think about the white orchards on the coffin.
And they expect us to pay for this tosh?
Vote:February 9th, 2013 at 4:01 pm
I’ve heard that the chemicals in printers ink may ward off anal cancer. Worth a try.
Vote:February 9th, 2013 at 4:03 pm
Archer, LOL. Very good.
I simply can’t bring myself to part with hard earned money for the Herald. I would, if they did something about the terrible spelling and grammar. It’s insulting. Most recent example to annoy me: ‘parliamentry’. Who can take a national newspaper seriously if they are that slapdash with the essential tools of their trade – words?
Don’t get me started on the screaming SST either.
Vote:February 9th, 2013 at 4:43 pm
Wooosssshhhhhh, that went strainght of the top of most Johnboy.
Oarsome
Vote:February 9th, 2013 at 4:47 pm
Left wing journalism tutors polluting our universities pump out scores of brainwashed progressive morons who find employment as editors and “journalists” in the mainstream media and therein produce daily screeds of painful liberal crap that pisses a large part of the market off so they stop buying newspapers.
What part of this simple scenario is apparently too hard for the owners of the mainstream media newspapers to understand?
Whilst they all sneer at Fox News, that broadcaster with its rejection of the customary far left broadcasting template we are all familiar with (see RNZ, TV One, TV3) is the most successful in the states.
Like the NYT, the Herald and the Dominion cling securely to their far left/ progressive editorial pattern, and seem unperturbed that they’re going to go broke. Happy to put left wing propaganda before their own financial survival. A weird industry to say the least. Can’t wait for it to fade away.
Look at the cover up on Obama’s lies over Benghazi for the most recent example of political corruption. What is worse is that its all done voluntarily. The Cuban and the Chinese journalists at least have the excuse of being under state control.
February 9th, 2013 at 4:55 pm
If I was a woman I would want to have your children Redbaiter!
February 9th, 2013 at 6:22 pm
I often suffer a wee bit of arterial blood loss after attempting to read the SST…..
Just kidding…. I wouldn’t pay money to buy that thing….
I was seeing a lady once and she got the Dompost delivered…
Well, my goodness…. the amount of bullshit in the Saturday edition… here’s your fucking magazine, two sections of property market etc etc…
Magazine was full of feature articles…. Hyacinth is a digital consultant. Husband Sebastian is an interior designer…. and here are their lovely children Tobia and Lilybella…
Vote:February 9th, 2013 at 6:25 pm
“I was seeing a lady once….”
What did she look like LRaC?
Stacked..?
Vote:February 9th, 2013 at 6:27 pm
When did you go off ladies?
Why?
Vote:February 9th, 2013 at 6:32 pm
Low quality journalism from Blackadder’s day:
Vote:February 9th, 2013 at 6:37 pm
They knew about newspapers and anal cancer even in those days KK?
Vote:February 9th, 2013 at 7:39 pm
I see the Herald has resorted to reporting combined readership of print and online to make the Neilsen data look not quite so bad…
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10864304
Not that reading Herald articles would ever have given the impression that ‘spin’ was a strength of course
Vote:February 9th, 2013 at 7:57 pm
I see the ‘Horrid’ coz someone in this household subscribes.
Young people have no fucking idea of spelling – the Teachers have taught them
Vote:February 9th, 2013 at 8:40 pm
Rex – I subscribe to ODT still and think it’s not too bad, but it’s competing with a lot now. I sometimes (getting more frequent) get to the end of the day and realise I haven’t even looked at it. That will partyly be because it’s local and national political coverage is sparse, but I get a lot of news online now from all over the place.
Vote:February 9th, 2013 at 9:43 pm
The problem is free online news – why bother getting the paper when you can read the news for free everywhere you go.
The advertising pays for the papers anyhow, and it is paying for their online free content – albeit not anywhere as much as ads in print. Ergo somethings gotta give and it’s the investigative journalism.
Vote:February 9th, 2013 at 9:51 pm
Apparently paywalls are the solution. I believe they are being mooted, yet again, to force revenue to news media to offset the reduced paper purchases.
Of course that can only work if they all do it. And no one breaks ranks. And they sue any and everyone who tweets even a portion of what they publish. And people are not prepared to listen to the radio, wait for TV news, or to use Internet radio/TV streaming or ‘on demand’ services.
Or, in short, they have a snowball’s chance…
Vote:February 10th, 2013 at 11:16 am
what these stats don’t reflect are those that have never bought the herald (I prefer softer paper in the loo) and never will.
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