While the country’s five largest weekend newspapers showed a slow yet steady decline in copy sales over the last year, the Mail & Guardian once again bucked the trend.
Its readership base increased by a whopping 10%, from 41233 copies in the third quarter of 2010 to 45692 in the third quarter of 2011. This is according to circulation figures released by the Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC) South Africa on Monday.
Publisher of M&G Media’s print and online operations, Anastacia Martin, said the figures showed a 10% year on year increase, with subscribers accounting for 23% of new readers. “Our strategy to grow new print readers in existing markets while simultaneously rolling out onto new digital platforms is showing positive results,” said Martin.
“We constantly check that we are offering content that is compelling and delivering quality audiences to advertisers. By embracing the rapid changes in technology, our premium brand remains competitive, engaged and relevant,” she said.
M&G editor-in-chief Nic Dawes said the growth in circulation was an enormously encouraging trend. “Readers are making it clear that they value relevance and quality, which are at the heart of what the M&G aims to achieve. In print and on digital platforms like the iPad and Kindle, more and more people are prepared to pay for the kind of journalism we believe in.”
Print and digital editions
Gordon Patterson, vice-chairperson of the ABC, said it’s becoming increasingly important for publications to look at the relationship between its print and digital editions going forward. Speaking at the release of the ABC figures on Monday, he said international trends have shown that readers of digital magazines are more likely to shop online, and that this should be of interest to advertisers.
He told the M&G that local publishers should start to see online as complementary to their brand rather than as the opposition. Many in the local media industry still fear that online content steals readers away from traditional print media. But Patterson dismissed the idea and encouraged publications to invest in their products.
“The Mail & Guardian has to be one of the most accessible publications for readers, with your online and your tablet editions, and look at your circulation,” he said. “There is a relationship with print.”
In addition to its digital and Kindle versions, the M&G recently released an iPad edition, a near replica of the weekly newspaper available for download on iTunes.
The iPad edition, which currently sells for $2.99, includes extra content that did not make it into the paper due to space constraints, as well as multimedia and interactive features.
An Android edition is also being developed, which is set for release next year.