Newspapers in the Philippines

About 93.4% of the Philippine population of approximately 99.9 million (July 2010 estimate) are considered simple literate. A relatively high figure which represents a segment of the Population from 15 years old and above who are able to read and write. But this figure is highly misleading as it does not accurately reflect the fact that reading habit is not prevalent among the population in general.

As a result, one need not look further why newspaper reading as a habit had not been popular in the major population. No wonder that it suffered a decline in recent years. Filipinos do not have a habit of reading newspapers anymore. As confirmed by a survey conducted by Synovate on newspaper readership, more particularly in the lower segment has suffered a decline of 2% compared to the previous year. Another data provided by the World Association of Newspapers in 2009 revealed that newspaper circulation in the country decreased by -0.53% over the past five years.

This trend is deemed to have been caused by a number of factors. It is however necessary to distinguish that the apparent decline can mostly be seen in the lower-income group but not so much in the upper-income segment. The latter segment has more disposable income. Among these factors include: poverty and purchasing power of the average Filipino, the availability of other news sources such as the internet and the television, and lastly, the shift in consumer preference. Indeed, all these factors help shape the population’s newspaper reading behavior.

The decline in newspaper readership in the Philippines can be majorly attributed to the present slump in the country’s economy where jobs are scarce and the average worker barely survives with the current daily minimum wage in the non-agricultural sector pegged at P404.00 (approximately equivalent to USD $9 at current exchange rate) based on National Wages Productivity Commission July 2010 data. Understandably, majority of the population simply lack the resources to buy or even more subscribe to newspapers. There are other more important priorities in order to survive and buying newspapers is obviously at the bottom list. One would rather spend hard-earned money on food and other basic necessities. A study by Asian Institute of Management (AIM) professor Ned Roberto confirmed that that in times of crisis, newspapers, among others, are the first to be deleted from a consumer's shopping list.

This factor however, does not seem to affect those belonging to the segment of the population with higher purchasing power. Synovate , a global market research firm conducted a survey in 2009 and found that newspaper readership by Filipino consumers with higher purchasing power increased from 50% in 2008 to 64%. Clearly, a person’s purchasing power and resources greatly affect his newspaper reading behavior.

New and more accessible media

There are about 14 million television households in the Philippines based on a 2009 study conducted by TNS Media Research Philippines . For most Filipinos, television is a very accessible and affordable alternative to newspapers. One needs only to make a one time investment by purchasing a television unit at one time and he or she gets to enjoy news and information provided by local channels at no added cost.

The availability of news reporting round the clock makes news readily available to the masses at any given time. Television becomes a viable alternative to reading newspapers. In the battle between news print and television consumption, the latter emerges victorious. For an average Filipino to access newspapers, he must purchase it on a daily basis at a cost ranging from P20-30 for a daily broad sheet or almost P600 for a month's subscription.

Moreover, news format on the local channels are delivered in short, instant, and attention-getting manner, a welcome alternative to those who don’t have the leisure of time to sit and spent quiet solitude reading the paper from cover to cover. In essence, the television news presents a format best suited to the needs of your average and ordinary Filipino.

The online News                    

Based on the 2010 Yahoo! - Nielsen Net Index Survey conducted in South East Asia, internet usage among Filipinos increased from 56% in 2009 to 76%. Such made possible the increasing access to online editions of the local prints at the mere click of a mouse. Almost all the contents of local papers are likewise readily available in the online versions, with only a few exceptions. More importantly, although access to the web is for a fee, the online editions of these papers are free.

Shift in consumer preference

The Filipino consumers of today are increasingly becoming mobile and empowered due to the availability of technologies that facilitate faster exchange of communication at the speed of light. They are also highly receptive to new media

They value and prefer everything ‘instant’ on the spot, and attention-getting, a trend that greatly undermines the proliferation and use of traditional media such as newspapers. The increasing empowerment of consumers also means that they cannot be pinned down on a given place or time.

Just recently, TNS , an insight and consultancy firm, released the results of a comprehensive study entitled 'Digital Life' which suggested that the Philippines has a young and dynamic online population (with average age of 22.7) which is highly receptive to new media. Said study further revealed that 30 million Filipinos or almost 30% of the country's population access the web on a regular basis. Indeed, this young segment are hard to attract or engage and more likely obtain news and information from new media instead of newspapers.

No doubt, the factors above mentioned have significantly veered Filipinos away from traditional newspaper reading but the presence of affordable and suitable news source affords them more freedom and choice to be in control of the information they want. At any rate, the apparent decline in newspaper reading habit of Filipinos does not affect their desire to be up to date of current news and events. On the contrary, Filipinos these days are deemed to be more updated thanks to the more accessible news sources.

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