WITH the exception of the Evening Times, Scotland’s daily ‘regional newspapers’ have seen their sales remain relatively stable since the end of last year.
But their year-on-year figures were less comforting.
As defined by the Audit Bureau of Circulations, the papers comprise the Aberdeen-based titles, the Evening Express and The Press and Journal, Dundee’s The Courier and Evening Telegraph, plus the Edinburgh Evening News and the Evening Times in Glasgow. There is also the Greenock Telegraph and the Paisley Daily Express.
During the six months up to the end of June, the Evening Express sold an average 51,800 copies. Compared with the six months up to the end of last year – when its average net circulation was 52,029 – that meant a 0.4 per cent drop.
The corresponding figures for the Press & Journal were 77,006 for the first six months of this year and 78,121 for the second six months of last – a 1.4 per cent drop.
By way of comparison, the average net circulations during last month – July – for The Scotsman and The Herald were 45,080 and 55,707, respectively.
Average net circulation includes free give-aways.
The six-month average, meanwhile, for The Courier, upto the end of June was 67,996 – compared to an average 69,414 during the six months up to December 31 – a two per cent drop. For the Evening Telegraph, a 0.6 per cent increase was actually enjoyed: from 46,147 to 47,129.
While there were falls for the Edinburgh Evening News (1.9 per cent (from 47,129 to 46,222)), the Greenock Telegraph (2.3 per cent (from 16,349 to 15,965)) and the Paisley Daily Express (0.8 per cent (from 8,831 to 8,764)), the Evening Times suffered a sales drop of 6.8 per cent.
In other words, its average net circulation for the six months up to the end of June was 63,806, down from an average net circulation for the six months up to the end of last year of 68,422.
But the year-on-year average net circulations were not so rosy; all the above titles were down: the Evening Express by 2.5 per cent year-on-year, The Press and Journal by 3.9 per cent, The Courier by 6.2 per cent and the Evening Telegraph by 5.5 per cent.
Meanwhile, the figures for the Edinburgh Evening News, the Evening Times, the Greenock Telegraph and the Paisley Daily Express were minus 6.1 per cent, minus 12 per cent (in other words, a loss of almost 10,000 copies), minus 6.5 per cent and minus 5.7 per cent.
Throughout all next week on allmediascotland: the ‘non daily regional titles’, A-Z.
