Survey: Printed media increases its popularity
Customer and speciality magazines show strongest growth
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Despite the recession, the reading of paper copies of the printed media has increased by half a percent, identifies the National Readership Survey commissioned by the Finnish Audit Bureau of Circulations and conducted by Suomen Gallup.
According to Suomen Gallup unit director Jukka Helske, weeklies and dailies printed on paper seem to have hung onto their strong foothold in Finland, despite the upsurge of the Internet.
Especially the Finnish retail chain customer magazines Pirkka, Yhteishyvä, and Me/YkkösBonus increased their readership figures.
Pirkka was the most widely-read magazine in the country. Its number of readers saw an increase of four per cent to 2,795,000.
Special-interest magazines also enjoyed increased popularity. Music periodical Rumba witnessed an increase in its readership figures of no less than 37 per cent, while photography magazine Kamera’s number of readers grew by 20 per cent.
Of specialty women’s magazines, Moda’s popularity increased by 22 per cent.
There were some losers, too. Weekly entertainment and television magazine Katso saw further shrinkage and experienced a loss of readers to the tune of 17 per cent, while Keltainen Pörssi (“Yellow Pages”) and Painonvartijat (“Weightwatchers”) saw their readership figures head south by 16 and 15 per cent respectively.
Just under 30,000 Finns were interviewed for the survey.
The survey also indicated growth for Helsingin Sanomat and many other large newspapers, but for them the change was not statistically significant.
For example, according to the survey the Helsingin Sanomat readership was 965,000 compared to 958,000 in the spring.
But at the very least the result, combined with the similar outcome of an earlier Atlas Survey by Suomen Gallup, shows that the paper’s number of readers is not heading downwards.
Helske ponders the reasons for the success of paper copies of the printed media.
“In the midst of the recession their importance is at least as great as at other times. They provide information on prices and special offers.”
The survival of the printed media in spite of the Internet revolution does not take Helske by surprise. “A paper copy is easy to take with you, and the connection does not break. Maybe, by nature the Internet is more of a community tool, whereas a paper in your hand speaks of a moment for yourself. When reading a paper one can shut out the world.”
When the readership of paper copies and online editions are combined, truly massive readership figures are reached.
According to last spring’s Atlas Survey, the combined readership for Helsingin Sanomat grew in four years by 440,000 individuals to 1.8 million. In the survey, people who utilised both the paper copy and the HS.fi Internet pages were not counted twice.
Helsingin Sanomat marketing director Caroline Lilius reckons that as the surrounding world becomes increasingly complicated people feel the need to read more to keep up with the changes.
“Changes in the international economy have more and more tangible repercussions in the lives of private Finns, and the worldwide environmental questions affect everybody.”
Helsingin Sanomat
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| 16.9.2009 - TODAY |
 Survey: Printed media increases its popularity |
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