NO HIDING PLACE FOR THE BANGKOK POST

The significant 29 per cent year-on-year decline in the headline circulation figure of The Bangkok Post, which I wrote about yesterday, ironically comes at roughly the same time when newspaper advertising overall was witnessing a 21 per cent year-on-year rise in revenues.
If you use these latest audited circulation figures as being reflective of the newspaper industry in Thailand as a whole then things are pretty serious. Although most of the Post's decline can be attributed to cuts in the bulk (reduced price multiple copy) sales of the newspaper, these are still copies that get read. I picked up a copy on a Thai Airways flight from Phuket to Bangkok yesterday - along with at least 30 other passengers and, trust me, with nothing much else to do for an hour you do end up reading the newspaper from cover to cover.
Having an audited circulation has both good and bad points. On the negative side is the fact that everyone can see just how fewer copies are being sold. It was only a few years ago The Bangkok Post was boasting sales of 60,000+ copies per day. Being audited, however, does add a level of transparency. The Bangkok Post can prove exactly how many copies it sells whereas others can only make unsubstantiated claims.
Would you rather trust your advertising to a newspaper that can prove daily sales of 45,000 copies, or one that claims far more but has no way of proving it?