P&J continues recent readership rise, says survey

THE Press and Journal is maintaining its recent upward trend in readership, according to a survey of people’s reading habits.

Says the National Readership Survey, in Scotland between January and December last year, some 197,000 read the print edition of the Aberdeen-based daily. That’s 13 per cent up on the same time 12 months previously.

The NRS now does a survey of people’s reading habits of both print and online, but on this occasion, the survey results are exclusively about print.

Meanwhile, reflecting its increasing sales profile, the print edition of the i newspaper enjoyed a readership hike in Scotland – by 103 per cent, from 19,000 on average to 39,000.

Elsewhere, though, readership was mostly down, again reflecting sales trends.

But there was readership ‘good news’ for the Daily Star of Scotland, its Sunday sister and also the People newspaper.

The survey asked a sample of over 5,000 people in Scotland to identify their readership habits, as far as print editions are concerned.

It revealed the following results:

Daily Telegraph – from an average 43,000 between January 2011-December 2011 to 36,000 between January and December last year, ie down 16 per cent;

Financial Times – 22,000 down to 16,000, down 27 per cent;

The Guardian – from 58,000 down to 42,000, down 27 per cent;

The Independent – from 26,000 down to 19,000, down 26 per cent;

i – from 19,000 up to 39,000, up 103 per cent;

The Times – from 65,000 down to 46,000, down 29 per cent;

Scottish Daily Express – from 145,000 down to 123,000, down 15 per cent;

Scottish Daily Mail – from 252,000 down to 207,000, down 18 per cent;

Daily Mirror – from 87,000 down to 50,000, down 42 per cent;

Daily Record – from 849,000 down to 791,000, down seven per cent;

Daily Star of Scotland – from 141,000 up to 144,000, up two per cent;

The Scottish Sun – from 885,000 down to 795,000, down ten per cent;

Metro – from 296,000 down to 263,000, down 11 per cent;

The Press and Journal – from 175,000 up to 197,000, up 13 per cent;

The Courier – from 159,000 down to 119,000, down 25 per cent;

The Herald – from 151,000 down to 144,000, down four per cent;

Evening Times – from 144,000 down to 111,000, down 23 per cent;

The Scotsman – from 121,000 down to 100,000, down 17 per cent;

The Observer – from 65,000 down to 49,000, down 25 per cent;

Sunday Telegraph – from 45,000 down to 43,000, down five per cent;

Independent on Sunday – from 23,000 to 23,000, no real change;

Sunday Times Scotland – from 156,000 down to 134,000, down 14 per cent;

Scottish Mail on Sunday – from 218,000 down to 204,000, down seven per cent;

Scottish Sunday Express – from 121,000 down to 92,000, down 24 per cent;

The People – from 34,000 up to 37,000, up eight per cent;

The Scottish Sun – Sunday – 579,000 (no comparison available, since didn’t exist until a year ago);

Sunday Mail – from 1,019,000 down to 910,000, down 11 per cent;

Sunday Mirror – from 104,000 down to 70,000, down 33 per cent;

The Sunday Post – from 633,000 down to 530,000, down 16 per cent;

Daily Star of Scotland – Sunday – from 87,000 up to 103,000, up 18 per cent;

Scotland on Sunday – from 139,000 down to 136,000, down two per cent;

Sunday Herald – from 131,000 down to 108,000, down 17 per cent.