Technical information
Interviewing was conducted from July 2001 to June 2002, using CAPI (Computer Assisted Personal Interviewing).
The SAARF Universal LSM is comparable to the previous survey.
The study is based on a representative sample of 29 016 respondents, aged 16 years and older. The adult universe has been adjusted: Based on estimates supplied by the Bureau for Market Research, SAARF has updated its population figures from 29,007 million adults, to 29,583 million, a growth of 2% for the AMPS adult universe.
BMR's projections allow for a moderate negative Aids impact (one in four of all recorded deaths). Estimates are that Aids accounts for 120 000 deaths per year. At present, this has seen a slight decline (0.6%) in the Gauteng adult population, especially amongst 25-45 year-olds. The effect of the disease on other provinces differs, depending on each province's demographic profile.
SAARF AMPS 2002A - Major Findings
MEDIA CONSUMPTION DATA
Newspaper readership
Overview
The front page headline coming from SAARF AMPS 2002A is "Papers are up - again!".
Readership of any newspaper, including community papers and freesheets, has posted significant growth over the previous AMPS survey. Fractionally under 45% of South African adults - 13.212 million - now read a newspaper, compared to 42.9% in the previous survey, SAARF AMPS 2001B, and 39.5% two years ago in SAARF AMPS 2000A.
Star performers in this sector are, once again, the weeklies (including weekly community papers and freesheets). Weekly readership has grown from 35.7% a year ago, to 37.8% in SAARF AMPS 2001B, to the current level of 39.5% in SAARF AMPS 2002A, delivering a total of 11.69 million readers of weekly papers. The average number of weeklies read is also up, from 1.87 papers in the previous period, to 1.91 in SAARF AMPS 2002A.
There have also been a number of significant demographic increases amongst the readers of weekly papers - males and females, 35-49 year-olds, SU-LSM 1-4, English speakers, and in metros, small urban areas, the Free State and Cape Town.
Community papers and freesheets (CP/F) as a group have also increased their readership levels, but not as dramatically as the weeklies. These boosted levels are seen especially amongst English readers, and in the Free State, Cape Town, Bloemfontein, and Kimberley areas. All provinces, except Gauteng, are showing an upward growth trend, with significant gains in readership in the Free State, from 26.8% in the previous period, to 31.2% in SAARF AMPS 2002A. (Some of these papers have increased their catchment areas.)
Dailies have seen their readership levelling off, staying the downward trend which was seen in SAARF AMPS 2001A. This sector has seen its readership declining specifically in the Reef area.
If no news is good news, then the dailies can breathe easy. SAARF AMPS 2002A shows a very stable picture for the dailies, both in terms of numbers and demographic shifts.
There are no significant gains or losses in readership in this sector, and the only demographic shifts have been a gain in English and SU-LSM 10 readers for the Cape Times, and a loss of English readers for Sowetan. (The decline in readership which was predicted following the epositioning of this paper, has stabilized in this survey.)
The average number of daily papers per reader has remained static at 1.25.
Drilling down... Weeklies
Despite this sector's significant gains in readership over the last period, there have not been a large number of significant readership figure shifts for individual weekly papers, which are either stable or showing slight upward trends. It is these upward trends of a number of papers, such as Die Burger on Saturday, City Press, Soccer Laduma and Sunday Times, have seen this sector of the newspaper industry growing.
There were only two significant readership changes in this sector. The star performer is Sowetan Sunday World, which has consistently grown its readership over the past three AMPS surveys. From a readership of 1.6% in SAARF AMPS 2000B, to 2.2% in SAARF AMPS 2001A, to 3.2% in SAARF AMPS 2001B, and now, in the current period, to 4%, or 1.17 million readers.
It has especially gained readers in metro areas, in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng, amongst both males and females, in the 25-34 and 50+ age groups, and in SU-LSM 6+.
The other significant readership change occurred with The Pretoria News Weekend, which has seen its readership drop from 0.5% in the previous period, to 0.3% readership, or 101 000 readers, in SAARF AMPS 2002A. In terms of demographics, readership is down in the Pretoria area.
Significant demographic shifts for weeklies:
The average number of weeklies read is 1.91.
Magazine readership
Overview
SAARF read one new magazine in SAARF AMPS 2002A - quarterly religious magazine Lucerna. Out There, and Radio & TV Talk ceased publication, and were not covered in the latest survey. Results have not been released for SA City Life, following erratic publishing in the past months.
Magazine readership in total is showing a slight upward trend over the past three surveys, but nothing significant. Readership of any magazine is now at 12.196 million, or 41.2%, up slightly over the 40.7% recorded in SAARF AMPS 2001B. Increases in readership have been seen amongst females, and in the Northern Cape and Free State.
In the newspaper/subscriber magazine category, readership is down slightly, following the discontinuation of Radio & TV Talk. Readership of these magazines now stands at 21.6%, or 6.387 million adults, down from 24.4% in SAARF AMPS 2001B, and breaking the upward trend which has been set up over the past three periods.
The average publication per person is slightly down, at 3.18, reversing the upward trend seen in previous surveys. The average number of newspaper/subscriber magazines read per person is also down slightly, from 1.63 in SAARF AMPS 2001B, to 1.57 in this survey, chiefly due to the discontinuation of Radio & TV Talk.
Drilling down... Weekly/fortnightly magazines
There is no significant movement in this category, with no magazine significantly growing, or losing, readership.
Kickoff is the only magazine in this category showing a clear upward trend, with readership currently at 1.929 million.
Significant demographic shifts:
Drilli
