The Borneo Post , See Hua Daily News remain top in ABC report

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KUALA LUMPUR: East Malaysia’s number one newspapers, The Borneo Post and See Hua Daily News, take centre stage once again in the latest report released by the Audit Bureau of Circulations Malaysia (ABC).

The Borneo Post (66,124 copies) and The Sunday Post (70,359 copies) top the chart of the ABC circulation figures for the January – June 2014 period for the Sarawak state while The Borneo Post (Sabah) shines with 23,104 copies. Equally impressive is The Borneo Post’s sister paper, See Hua Daily News, which remains number one with 67,908 copies (Sarawak) and 27,639 copies (Sabah).

In Sarawak, both The Borneo Post and See Hua Daily News were once again certified number one in terms of circulation by the ABC. The combined figures (entire East Malaysia) for both papers are 89,228 copies (The Borneo Post) and 95,547 copies (See Hua Daily News), making them the ultimate number one choice for the East Malaysian readers.

In the meantime, almost 60 per cent of ABC newspaper members are now part of the digital replica editions’ bandwagon.

The increase in the consumption of digital media and in the global news audience has placed newspapers in a strengthened position to propel their growth even further in the coming years, according to Kharthi Palanisamy, ABC chairman.

“The acceptance of the digital versions of newspapers amongst stakeholders in the industry promises more growth for the industry. Almost all publishers registered an increase of between 20 per cent and 40 per cent in their digital circulation. Nevertheless, these key takeouts from the report underlined the ABC’s conviction that the print product remains a major part of the business and is likely to retain this status quo in the future,” he said.

“It is grossly incorrect to presume a weakening in newspaper circulation when the same publishers have grown digital news audience here. Circulation and reach of newspapers must be viewed within this often overlooked but vital context,” he explained.

“The Malaysian print industry has benefitted from the rapid expansion of digital news audience. The ABC plays a key role in capturing this evolution by anticipating the trends as early as 2008 and rolling out digital media measurement as part of a large range of measures to serve the changing needs of the industry.”

“As the only circulation auditors, the ABC grasped the incoming technological advances and their impact on the print medium as well as the creation of various channels that enables the consumption of media,” he added.

Apart from its traditional information base (print media, paid circulation and free distribution), ABC has also disseminated the circulation of the Digital Replica Editions of its members to the market since 2012.

ABC is also venturing into the audit of digital publications and web site traffic and other digital applications. A significant progress in this area was the establishment of a close working relationship with the Malaysian Digital Association (MDA) since May 2014.

Reiterating this was ABC’s Vice Chairman and Audit Committee Chairman Fan Chen Yip, who said: “Publishers have realised that technology play a big role in determining media consumption and they have reacted to this change and adjusted their business accordingly. Readers are increasingly willing to purchase content and their buying decisions lean towards high quality content.”

Both Karthi and Fan are optimistic and aware that the drive towards digital diversification by newspaper publishers is no longer a new line of attack, but rather it forms a main part of their revenue and business model in maintaining the loyalty of the news audiences.