Independent News & Media has admitted that previous explanations it gave for the company's level of "bulk sales" were incorrect.
In an update sent to the advertising community this week, the company's advertising director, Mr Joe Webb, acknowledges previous references to the way the Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC) defines "bulk sales" were incorrect.
Bulk sales involve consumers getting a free copy of the paper from a third party, usually a hotel or retail outlet. While the third party may pay the publishers a nominal sum, the end customer pays nothing.
In the previous update, Independent News & Media said the only reason its "bulk sales" were high was because ABC had "re-classified" other kinds of discounted sales as "bulk sales" for the first time.
That letter, also from Mr Webb, said: "This is simply the first year the ABC has re-classified these figures".
However, the update admits this is not correct.
Instead, the company admits that sales it previously regarded as "lower rates sales" are in fact bulk sales. The update relates to the company's three titles, the Sunday Independent, the Irish Independent and the Evening Herald.
According to the ABC figures for the second half of 2002, the Irish Independent had bulk sales of 14,500 per issue, the Sunday Independent had 25,738, while the Evening Herald had 11,016.
The latest comments from the Independent will increase the tension between the group and Associated Newspapers, publishers of Ireland on Sunday. That company released a response to the Independent's update last night.
It said: "After weeks of desperate wriggling, Independent News & Media has finally admitted it has been misleading advertisers about the size of its paid-for circulation."
It said that once Ireland on Sunday pointed the practice out, "the Independent starting pumping out propaganda that would have made Baghdad blush".
The two newspaper groups have been at loggerheads for the past year over issues relating to circulation, with Associated Newspapers taking out full-page advertisements highlighting the scale of bulk sales at the Independent.
Last year, Independent News & Media complained about Ireland on Sunday to ABC claiming that Associated Newspapers was sending promotional copies to agencies and advertisers, and recording them as sales.
However, the bureau ruled that Associated Newspapers did not breach regulations regarding promotional sales. However, it was found guilty of quoting unaudited circulation figures in a promotional letter sent out to advertising agencies.
Last night Associated Newspapers said it wanted to know where Independent News & Media's bulk sales ended up?
"The Independent group claims they are distributed to, among other places, educational establishments.
"These apparently include St Teresa's Primary School in Balbriggan, where baffled pupils aged five to 12 are still trying to get rid of dozens of copies of the Irish Independent dumped on them by agents of Samba Soccer Schools."
However, Independent News & Media has previously defended these kind of promotions.
In the last update sent by Mr Webb, he said: "Our bulk sale programme involves a targeted promotional strategy aimed at driving long-term circulation and readership development to key consumer groups.
"These groups are targeted through bulk sales to airlines, the hotel industry and into the education sector (into primary, secondary and third level through a variety of different sales schemes)."
