Catholic periodicals

[BobHayes]

The Universe is no longer registered with ABC, so its circulation seems rather nebulous given the substantial piles of free copies one often sees at the back of churches and in parish halls. No doubt many people pick it up, but with the many freebies around it is less easy to determine its active support. The content is a blend of human interest stories and short news items, laced with lots of advertising for the many other Universe Media publications. In what is otherwise a rather partisan market it is pretty much apolitical. Omitting it from my analysis was probably rather uncharitable.

Regarding ABC, I think only The Tablet is registered these days?

[BobHayes]

My original comment about the last of these as the only serious, intellectual Catholic weekly periodical in the UK was based largely on content and readership level, not on location on the left-right spectrum.

Are your 'readership levels' (A, B etc.) references to socio-economic groups?

[JW]

The Tablet: It comes in a handy A4 format and comprises contributions from regular columnists, guest writers, interviews with well-known individuals plus reports and news items. With a strong interest in Catholic social teaching it rightly focuses on a range of humanitarian issues at home and abroad. I would suggest its internationalism is rooted in a United Nations type of world view. It also has a tendency towards publishing gossip, while trying to appear high-minded and distant from the puerile - much as The People (Sunday tabloid) prints gossip and nudge-nudge stories while claiming to stand aloof from the overt salaciousness of the now-defunct News of the World. There are problems within the Catholic Church, but gossipy tittle-tattle, verging on sensationalism does nothing to resolve them. Likewise its sycophantic attempts to append the Church to the Olympics were gut-churning.

On the gossip aspect, I was very relieved that there were no articles on Saville this week - was it 3 or 4 weeks running that there was some sort of analysis as to his motives? There is certainly a great deal of embarrassment at the undoubted good he has also done. I would far rather that The Tablet gave a voice to victims rather than abusers like Saville. Somehow we have to stop abuse now, rather than wringing our hands ineffectually several years after the event and pretending that we now have procedures in place which fulfill our responsibilities.

Concerning readership, am I the only one who is slightly concerned that The Tablet plays on it's AB readership to advertisers, and then goes on about Catholic Social Teaching and humanitarian issues? Whilst accepting the influence that AB readerships tend to have, I'm not comfortable with it. There are parallels here with the 'posh boys' accusations made against the current Cabinet.

No periodical is going to be perfect - does anyone ever agree with everything in a newspaper?

[BobHayes]

Concerning readership, am I the only one who is slightly concerned that The Tablet plays on it's AB readership to advertisers, and then goes on about Catholic Social Teaching and humanitarian issues? Whilst accepting the influence that AB readerships tend to have, I'm not comfortable with it. There are parallels here with the 'posh boys' accusations made against the current Cabinet.

There is something wonderfully ironic about The Tablet - which publishes many articles calling for 'democracy' and 'inclusion' in the Church - being dependent upon, at least some, elitist elements.

[Nick Baty]

The Tablet plays on it's AB readership to advertiser

Its media pack claims ABC1, 60% male.

The Universe "distributes" 28,000 copies. (And to think, a former editor was fired when sales fell to 40,000! I could go on but I seem to remember a silencing clause when I finally accepted the redundancy package.) It claims to provide news to "to the 9 million Catholics in the UK and Ireland" while saying it is read by 100,000 people. (It's usually acceptable for specialist publications to multiply sales by four or five to estimate readership.) "Typical" Universe readers shop at Marks & Spencer.

The Herald says it distributes 24,000 copies which are read by 45,000 people. 90% of readers are "AB1". (In NRS grades B is not subdivided into 1 and 2, so the figures appear unreliable.) And, most curiously, "60% of recruiters use The Catholic Herald regularly" which seems unlikely, given the number of recruiters there are in the UK.

It's interesting that the publication claiming the lowest sales figures (The Tablet) is the only one to have an ABC audit.

[Southern Comfort]

The Tablet plays on it's AB readership to advertiser

Its media pack claims ABC1, 60% male.

It's ABC-verified subscription base is just under 20,000. Which is to say that it prints more copies than that.

The Universe "distributes" 28,000 copies. (And to think, a former editor was fired when sales fell to 40,000! I could go on but I seem to remember a silencing clause when I finally accepted the redundancy package.) It claims to provide news to "to the 9 million Catholics in the UK and Ireland" while saying it is read by 100,000 people. (It's usually acceptable for specialist publications to multiply sales by four or five to estimate readership.) "Typical" Universe readers shop at Marks & Spencer.

This is less than I thought. 50,000 was my guesstimate for its print-run, based on previous experience. Thank you for what may be a more accurate ballpark figure.

Often newspapers take their print-run and double it, thinking that each copy is read by 2 people, so if the Universe says it is read by 100,000 people, my estimate of a 50,000 print-run could still be on the mark. Forty years ago, the Universe print-run was around 100,000.

The Herald says it distributes 24,000 copies which are read by 45,000 people. 90% of readers are "AB1". (In NRS grades B is not subdivided into 1 and 2, so the figures appear unreliable.) And, most curiously, "60% of recruiters use The Catholic Herald regularly" which seems unlikely, given the number of recruiters there are in the UK.

The Herald's print-run today is generally supposed to be 5,000 at most, hence my splinter-group comment. Its maximum in the 1970s was 24,000.

It's interesting that the publication claiming the lowest sales figures (The Tablet) is the only one to have an ABC audit.

It seems quite clear that the Tablet's sales figures are considerably above those of the Herald, having risen consistently under John Wilkins's editorship while the Herald was sinking rapidly under William Oddie and his predecessors. The Tablet's readership appears now to have stabilised at a level slightly lower than it was under Wilkins, despite having introduced novelties such as a crossword and sudoku, and seems to be based on the calibre of its content.

[Nick Baty]

It's ABC-verified subscription base is just under 20,000. Which is to say that it prints more copies than that.

Probably. But print runs are neither here nor there as, if you're using newsprint, the on-cost of printing several thousand more is negligible. It's the first 1,000 which are the most expensive because of the set-up cost.

Often newspapers take their print-run and double it, thinking that each copy is read by 2 people, so if the Universe says it is read by 100,000 people, my estimate of a 50,000 print-run could still be on the mark.

More popular newspapers, Mirror, Guardian etc, use that method. But church publications come into the specialist category so the readership is usually estimated by multiplying sales by four or five. Print-runs aren't that relevant. The advertisers are only interested in sales figures.

Another indicator is if/where the larger branches of WH Smith display the product. Smith's remains a major distributor of all newspaper products but they're are also retailers. And they can call the shots. If they're not happy with the sales figures (sometimes even the look) of your product they can refuse to stock it. And, if they do take it, they determine where it will be displayed in their branches. That's why you're more likely to find your copy of The Universe next to Bodybuilder's Monthly rather than next to The Mail on Sunday.

[musicus]

...the Herald was sinking rapidly under William Oddie and his predecessors.

Not sure about his immediate predecessors, but I used to subscribe to the Herald and stopped doing so not long after Oddie took over. I never saw a publication change its tone and direction as radically and as swiftly as did the Herald at that time. It was many years before I decided to subscribe to the Tablet, having struggled with it as a student. Perhaps it has become more readable, or maybe I have Increased My Word-Power (as the Readers' Digest used to say).

[Nick Baty]

It was many years later that I decided to subscribe to the Tablet, having struggled with it as a student. Perhaps it has become more readable, or maybe I have Increased My Word-Power (as the Readers' Digest used to say).

Always telling my students that, the second they use a word or a phrase which the average reader cannot understand, than they have failed. It is the job of the reporter to convey the information, not the job of the reader to translate it!

[Southern Comfort]

...the Herald was sinking rapidly under William Oddie and his predecessors.

Not sure about his immediate predecessors, but I used to subscribe to the Herald and stopped doing so not long after Oddie took over. I never saw a publication change its tone and direction as radically and as swiftly as did the Herald at that time.

I agree with you about what happened under Oddie. But even before that the Herald had been in trouble. Falling sales figures over a long period, and a seeming inability to keep an editor for more than a few months. (Do you remember how they kept bringing Gerry Noel back from retirement to be acting editor while they found someone else?)

It was many years before I decided to subscribe to the Tablet, having struggled with it as a student. Perhaps it has become more readable, or maybe I have Increased My Word-Power (as the Readers' Digest used to say).

I think it became more readable. When I first started with it as a student, Woodruff was still (just) the editor, and it could be tough going and stuffy. Tom Burns continued in that tradition to a certain extent. It was only under John Wilkins that the paper was transformed into what it is today, hence (I think) the consistently rising subscription rates during his tenure. Having said that, I'm sure you've increased your Word-Power as well!

[Southern Comfort]

Another indicator is if/where the larger branches of WH Smith display the product. Smith's remains a major distributor of all newspaper products but they're are also retailers. And they can call the shots. If they're not happy with the sales figures (sometimes even the look) of your product they can refuse to stock it. And, if they do take it, they determine where it will be displayed in their branches. That's why you're more likely to find your copy of The Universe next to Bodybuilder's Monthly rather than next to The Mail on Sunday.

Good Lord! I don't think I've ever seen a copy of any Catholic newspaper in any WH Smith.... Perhaps it's different up north? There was a time when WHS used to carry Church Music, the magazine of the Church Music Association before it merged back into the SSG and Music and Liturgy, but it didn't last long — just a couple of years, I think.

In the case of The Universe, its distribution is done direct to parishes by a contractor. I believe the Herald and the Tablet rely on mail for theirs.

[Nick Baty]

Yes, Smiths is a major player in newspaper distribution.
They can even tell you where to stick your barcode!

[musicus]

Nick, surely you know where you can stick your barcode!

[JW]

Found out a few things this morning:

1) Churches don't appear to make any money out of selling periodicals; at Rainham we supply to order only, to avoid losing out.

2) In our church, sales for 'Catholic Herald' and 'Tablet' run at about 5 each. There is 1 'Universe', but interestingly we also have half a dozen orders for Irish periodicals. Ireland's Own was one, can't remember t'other. Weekly Mass attendance is about 500 so only a small proportion now seem to read a Catholic periodical.

3) Sales of 'The Tablet' are higher than 5 as some in the parish have their own subscription because it's cheaper and arrives earlier. So I'm off to take out a subscription myself and cancel my church order.

[Nick Baty]

A story about The Universe from 2001. I was accused by the company of writing this. As you can see from the byline, I didn’t. But I haven’t worked for them since.