Der sælges aviser som aldrig før – ikke i Europa, men i Den 3. Verden
Despite the global financial crisis, newspaper circulation grew 1,3 percent world-wide in 2008, the President of the World Association of Newspapers said Wednesday in a speech that contradicted “misleading” reports predicting the imminent death of newspapers.
Newspaper circulation increased +6.9 percent in AFRICA last year, +1.8 percent in SOUTH AMERICA, and +2.9 percent in ASIA with Indias emerging middle class boosting newspaper sale by a stunning 16 per cent.
– The simple fact is that, as a global industry, our printed audience continues to grow, said Gavin O’Reilly, President of the World Association of Newspapers and CEO of Independent News and Media.
– But you might say that this growth is taking place in the developing markets of the world and masks a continued downward trend in the developed markets. And to a degree this is true, but not the whole story, as newspaper companies in these markets have embraced digital technologies to further improve their audience reach, he said in a speech opening the World Association of Newspapers Power of Print Conference in Barcelona, Spain.
Mr O’Reilly said:
– 1,9 billion people read a paid daily newspaper every day.
– Newspapers reach 41 percent more adults than the world wide web.
– More adults read a newspaper every day than people eat a Big Mac every year.
– Whilst it may be true to say that in some regions, circulations are not a boom sector, newspapers continue to be a global mass media to be reckoned with, achieving a global average reach of over one third of the world’s population, he said.
Mr O’Reilly’s speech was based largely on preliminary data to be included in World Press Trends, the annual report from WAN to be published next month. The data shows:
Global newspaper circulation increased +1.3 percent in 2008, to almost 540 million daily sales, and was up +8.8 percent over five years. When free dailies (gratisaviser) are added, circulation rose +1.62 percent in 2008 and +13 percent over five years.
Circulation gains are not only occurring in the emerging markets of China and India; 38 percent of countries reported gains in 2008, and 58 percent saw circulation increase over five years.
Though newspaper advertising revenues were down -5 percent in 2008, print media still takes 37 percent of world advertising revenues.
Although falling newspaper circulations are routinely blamed on the internet, the evidence paints a more complex picture, said Mr O’Reilly. “Why is it, that something as sophisticated as media consumption always get relegated to an oversimplified spat between print and online? Why must it always be a case of either or? Is it just possible that the consumer is capable of multi-tasking; is capable of consuming a multitude of media and that it need not necessarily be just online?”
The Paris-based WAN, the global organisation for the newspaper industry, defends and promotes press freedom and the professional and business interests of newspapers world-wide. Representing 18,000 newspapers, its membership includes 77 national newspaper associations, newspaper companies and individual newspaper executives in 122 countries, 12 news agencies and 11 regional and world-wide press groups.
Kilde: www.wan-press.org
