Most Irish newspapers picked up new readers over the course of 2004, according to new statistics published yesterday.
The Joint National Readership Survey (JNRS) from Lansdowne Market Research shows that the number of adults reading at least one national newspaper each week rose from 2.8 million in 2003 to 2.9 million last year.
This means that 91.4 per cent of adults were reading national newspapers in 2004, up from 90.8 per cent in 2003.
One factor in the higher readership figures in 2004 was an increase in the adult population by 83,000 to 3.2 million. The National Newspapers of Ireland (NNI) acknowledged this but said the main driver behind the growth was an improvement in newspaper quality.
"Newspapers have raised their game, there's no doubt about that," said NNI co-ordinating director, Frank Cullen. "Our member titles have invested heavily in new printing facilities, new formats, new supplements and new colour magazines and readers are responding."
Mr Cullen was particularly encouraged by results showing that more than 90 per cent of adults aged under 25 read a newspaper. Almost 80 per cent of young people said they thought it was worthwhile to pay more for "quality goods".
Readership refers to the average number of people who read a specific publication rather than the number of people who buy publications. Newspaper purchases are covered by circulation statistics.
The JNRS figures show that readership of The Irish Times climbed by 1.25 per cent, or 4,000, to 323,000 over the course of 2004.
The Irish Times made its biggest gains within the 25 to 34 year-old age group. The newspaper retained its pre-eminent position as most popular daily for the more affluent AB segment as readership in this category rose by 1,000 to 138,000.
The Irish Independent's readership rose overall by 15 per cent, or 80,000, to 612,000 in the same period. But its share of AB readers fell by 1,000 to 103,000. The JNRS figures do not differentiate between the Irish Independent's broadsheet and "compact" editions. Across age groups, the Independent's most substantial increase was among 35- to 44-year-olds.
The Irish Examiner also experienced healthy gains last year, with readership up by 7 per cent at 220,000.
Readership of the Daily Star rose by 2 per cent to 447,000.
The Irish Sun was the only national daily title to lose a portion of its readership last year. The paper suffered a 2.8 per cent drop as readership fell to 278,000.
The Evening Herald fared better as its readership rose by 1.5 per cent to 348,000.
Within the increasingly-competitive Sunday newspaper market, all titles lured new readers last year, with Ireland on Sunday making the biggest gain of 56,000. The 13 per cent increase to 502,000 was welcomed by its commercial director, Oliver Keenaghan, who noted that the paper's new readers were all urban.
The Sunday Times achieved the most substantial percentage gain in readership with a 14 per cent increase to 349,000.
Readership of the Sunday Tribune was pushed up by 8 per cent to 237,000.
The Sunday Independent held its position as the most widely-read newspaper as readership grew by 1 per cent to 1.08 million. Second place was taken by the Sunday World, which added 25,000 new readers to bring its total to 852,000.
