THE Mail & Guardian is one of only three national weekly newspapers to have posted significant year-on-year circulation increases in the latest Audit Bureau of Circulation (ABC) certificate issued on August 2. The declining circulation figures for most urban daily and weekly newspapers reveal one thing: South Africans are reading less. Three print publications have managed to surge ahead while the industry is feeling the pinch of lower sales figures: Sowetan Sunday World has shown an unprecedented growth in circulation of a staggering 93,78%, from 43_873 to 85_015. Soccer-Laduma grew by 16,79%. And the third publication to show significant growth is the M&G — 14,53% up. Its current circulation is 42_649 in comparison to 37_240 for July to December last year. Business Day (-3,7%), The Citizen (-12,9%), The Sunday Independent (-8,4%) and The Independent on Saturday (-18%) have all lost readers. – M&G
Thursday August 2, 2001