The Irish Times is read by more senior business people than any of its competitors, according to an independent survey which found that the paper was the only Irish publication to increase readership in that category in the past two years.
Figures compiled by Ipsos-RSL, a London-based market research firm, said readership of The Irish Times in the Republic's senior business community rose to 84 per cent this year, from 83 per cent in 1998.
At the highest level, 92.6 per cent of chief executives, managing directors, presidents and chairmen read The Irish Times.
The bi-annual European Business Readership survey, which is jointly sponsored by the Financial Times, assessed reading habits in 17 states. Other leading Irish publications lost senior business readers in the period, the survey said.
For example, readership of the Irish Independent among senior business people declined to 50 per cent from 55 per cent. Senior business readership of the Sunday Independent, fell to 58 per cent from 64 per cent.
Some 52 per cent of senior business people said they read the Sunday Business Post, down from 57 per cent in 1998. Senior business readership of the Sunday Tribune fell to 41 per cent from 44 per cent while 49 per cent of senior business readers said they read the Sunday Times, compared with 51 per cent two years earlier.
Of the senior business readers surveyed in the Republic, 68 per cent said they regarded The Irish Times as "important business reading". The survey said only 2 per cent found important business reading in the Sunday Independent and Sunday Tribune. This compared with 22 per cent of Sunday Business Post senior business readers and 6 per cent of Sunday Times readers in the category.
Some 14 per cent said the Irish Independent contained important business reading. The survey said 36 per cent of senior Financial Times business readers found important business reading in that paper.
When these figures were combined with data from Northern Ireland, 78 per cent of senior business people said they read The Irish Times. This compared with 41 per cent for the Irish Independent and 15 per cent for the Belfast Telegraph.
The mean gross annual income of Irish Times senior business readers in the Republic is £101,631 (€129,045), the survey said. Ipso-RSL surveyed some 362 senior business people in the Republic between November 30th last year and July 13th. The Irish Times achieved 100 per cent readership among those in the banking and insurance sectors. The paper was also ranked highest in a number of other sectors, including financial accounting, strategic planning, legal, IT, sales, human resources, training and e-commerce.
