Adding to national newspaper publishers' woes, declining
advertising revenues are being matched with falling circulation, with
only qualities bucking the trend.
June's ABC results reveal that all tabloid and mid-market categories are
down over the same month last year, with the Sunday red-tops faring
worst.
The six-month averages confirm the downward trend for tabloids, while
the qualities achieved growth of less than 1 per cent.
Another worrying indicator is that newspapers have failed to recover
lost ground following particularly poor May results affected by election
apathy.
The June figures show the Sunday qualities up 1.3 per cent over May, but
all other categories were virtually flat.
The last week of the election campaign, the results and William Hague's
resignation might have been expected to boost reader interest in the
June period.
Two weeks ago, Trinity Mirror reported a dramatic fall in advertising
revenues and it can take no solace from its circulation results.
All its titles show significant losses over the past six months compared
with the previous year, with the Sunday People down 8 per cent.
New editor Tina Weaver has a job on her hands in turning around the
Sunday Mirror, which fell a further 1.78 per cent in June and is down
4.65 per cent over the six months.
This may provide the News of the World's Rebekah Wade with some
comfort.
But the reality is that, a year after her appointment, she has failed to
turn around her paper's sliding sales.
Following celebrity snapper Jason Fraser's resignation last week, there
was further gloom for Richard Desmond, with both Express titles down in
June. Backed by a television promotion, the Daily Mail was marginally
up.
The Guardian and The Observer continue to post impressive gains.
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