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NaiDunia cries foul over IRS 2008, Round 1 figures

NaiDunia claims that the readership figures for the cities of Indore and Jabalpur have been underreported

NaiDunia, the Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh based Hindi daily, has expressed its dissatisfaction about the readership figures reported by IRS 2008, Round 1. The publication has sent a legal notice to the Media Research Users Council (MRUC), asking for an explanation.

As per an official communiqué released by NaiDunia, the Hindi daily claims that the readership figures quoted in the latest round of the IRS does not match the circulation figures certified by the Audit Bureau of Circulation (ABC). NaiDunia claims that it has increased its circulation in Indore, but this is not reflected in the IRS figures. According to NaiDunia, the readership is less than the circulation figures certified by ABC, which is unusual.

Similarly, in Jabalpur also, where a NaiDunia edition was launched in September 2007, the readership and circulation figures do not match.

The Hindi daily has also raised the issue of the Jabalpur and Gwalior editions being reported together.

NaiDunia cries foul over IRS 2008, Round 1 figures
Anil Dhupar
In the official communiqué, Anil Dhupar, president, marketing, NaiDunia, said that in the latest round of the IRS, publications with two or three editions have been clubbed as one, which made it difficult for multi-edition publications, such as NaiDunia, to make the correct comparisons or highlight itself.

Dhupar adds that the MRUC had made a similar blunder in the last round of the IRS (Round 2, 2007), and NaiDunia had raised an objection. But it never got a satisfactory response from the MRUC. Therefore, it has been forced to serve a legal notice now.

According to Dhupar, media planners across the country refer to the IRS report, and such reports affect a publication’s business.

Speaking to agencyfaqs!, Dhupar said, “We want a satisfactory explanation for these issues. The MRUC has to clearly state the sample size, readership figures and format that have been used to draw the conclusions. I believe that whatever the method employed for the survey by the MRUC, and whatever the figures used, the readership figures cannot be and should not be reflected as less than the actual figures.”

When contacted on this issue, Sabina Solomon, general manager, MRUC, said, “I do not wish to react to the individual concerns of any publication at this stage. Whatever concerns they have, we are open to discussing them and sorting them out. There is a process in place for addressing legitimate issues and concerns. As far as the methodology for conducting research is concerned, as an organisation, we believe in fairness and transparency, so anyone can visit our website and gather information on how we work.”

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