Wednesday, February 7, 2007

Newspaper circulation going up

This is probably against conventional wisdom in a tech-driven world; but not surprising. Technology has replaced some devices with newer ones, but not all. We still have pencils, pens, inks, white paper to write on, radios, television sets, cassette players, cinema halls, theatre, bicycles, motorbikes, grinders and mixers (though precooked food is available)…

We do get excited over the theoretical possibilities that technology offers. At the turn of the century, during the dotcom boom, one of them was how we would all shop online and we would see the slow death of retail markets. The other was how we would all stop reading the newspaper and just be content with what we got on the mobile devices.

I guess our love for the written and printed word is very innate to human nature. So, it’s not surprising that newspaper circulation around the world has gone up.

Look at these latest figures put out by the Paris-based World Association of Newspapers. (Source)


  • Circulation of Indian dailies jumped 33 per cent.
  • Global newspaper circulation increased 9.95 percent.
  • Daily newspaper titles surpassed 10,000 for the first time in history.
  • India has 1,834 dailies (in 2005) up 22.8 per cent from 1,493 dailies in 2001.
  • The circulation of India's dailies consistently increased from 5,91,29,000 in 2001 to 7,29,39,000 in 2003 to 7,86,89,000 in 2005.
  • More than 450 million copies of newspapers are sold daily world over.
  • Even in North America and Europe both circulation and the number of new titles have increased.

    • A previous posting, on June 9, on the same topic
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    5 comments:

    1. AnonymousWednesday, 07 February, 2007

      ok papers are around but content has changed is it not? I don't buy paper, i just glance through in the office library. I follow news on internet and TV.

      ReplyDelete
    2. Al Nims MediaWednesday, 07 February, 2007

      In Europe and US, online versions are hugely popular. All said and done, print is here to stay!

      ReplyDelete
    3. ChitraThursday, 08 February, 2007

      Though I am a huge fan of reading news on the Inet, I still love paper. :)

      ReplyDelete
    4. yadu tekaleSunday, 11 February, 2007

      its not surprising pradeep. its not just newspapers that have not died, but the print industry and that includes books.

      my theory is that technology profilerates noise and the printed word limits the reach of noise. hence their growth.

      ReplyDelete
    5. Muhammad RiyazWednesday, 14 February, 2007

      I think the online editions are only aiding to the reading habit. People start getting interested in more and more news items, new areas etc and the print media will remain for the actual good reads.

      My father is going broadband this week and he wants to know the addresses of other Malayalam newspapers so that he could check them out too. He does not want to cancel the current subscription. Who knows if he would not add a couple in the days to come/

      ReplyDelete

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