Irish newspaper sales rose in general for the first six months of this year, according to the latest audited circulation figures. Only the Star, the Evening Herald and the Sunday Independent recorded a fall in circulation as compared to the same period last year.
The Irish Times is up 4.04 per cent to 105,312, continuing a trend that began about 1993. The Irish Independent is up 0.39 per cent to 158,005; the Examiner is up 2.59 per cent to 55,816; the Star is down 0.90 per cent to 85,202; and the Evening Herald is down 3.25 per cent to 115,071. The Evening Echo in Cork is up 4.37 per cent to 27,037.
In the Sunday market, the Sun- day Independent seems to have levelled off and might be about to lose the circulation gains it made when the Sunday Press stopped publishing in 1995.
It is down 0.85 per cent to 333,966.
The Sunday Independent will face further pressure with next week's launch of Ireland on Sunday.
Its management has stated that, as a mid-market newspaper, it is targeting Sunday Independent readers specifically.
The Sunday Business Post has shown almost continued growth over the past few years, while the Sunday Tribune shows what investment in editorial and marketing can achieve.
It is up 6.27 per cent to 84,148; the Sunday World is also up 4.22 per cent to 303,964.
The highest percentage rise of any newspaper is the Sunday Business Post with a 12.99 per cent rise to 41,890.
A recent readership survey, conducted for the Joint National Readership Research by Lansdowne Market Research, showed a different trend from the circulation figures for some newspapers, with a fall in readership for the Evening Echo and the Sunday World, both of which register sales, as opposed to readership, improvements.
The circulation figures are audited by the Audit Bureau of Circulations.