SHOOT: The byline in a recent MONEYWEB article:
Sacrificing truth for sensation will hurt the flat-lining newspaper in the long run.
And: The biggest issue is one of readership, and at this stage the Sunday Times can ill afford to lose just one reader given its circulation has flat lined in recent years.
SHOOT: I visited the AVUSA offices earlier today. The entrance is festooned with self congratulatory results: 3,977 million - a readership growth of 66% since 1994. Since 1994? 1994 is ancient history, the year the ANC came into power. So do we want to know how much readership grew since 15 years ago? Why not 10 years, or 5 years?
Even so I'd dispute the 3.977 million figure. I'll tell you why. We're in recession. At convenience stores in Houghton, on a Sunday, shiploads of Sunday Times remain unclaimed come 7pm. What does that tell you? People aren't as in love with the Sunday Times as the Sunday Times is in love with itself. It's lost Bullard, but it's also lost something else. The feel good factor perhaps.
BIZCOMMUNITY: While lesser brands are struggling, this 100-year-old titan has achieved its highest readership ever,” says Susan Russell, GM marketing Avusa Media.
SHOOT: I, quite frankly, have trouble believing that. Highest readership ever while virtually every other publication in the world is shedding readers... Time, I have no doubt, will tell.
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