Worldwide newspaper sales edged up by more than two percent in 2004 while advertising revenue recorded significant gains, the World Association of Newspapers said Monday.
In its report on trends in the newspaper industry, the WAN said 395 million copies of newspapers were sold daily in 2004 and read by an estimated one billion people worldwide.
China, India and Japan were the world's biggest newspaper markets in 2004 and China overtook Japan as the country with the highest number of publications in the world.
Three-quarters of the world's 100 best selling daily newspapers were now published in Asia where sales were up 4.1 percent for the year.
The figures, from WAN's annual survey of press trends, were released to more than 1,300 publishers, editors and other senior newspaper executives from 81 countries attending the World Newspaper Congress and the World Editors Forum, Asia's biggest ever media gathering, which opened here Monday.
Worldwide newspaper circulation grew 2.1 percent, the number of daily titles was up two percent and advertising revenue rose 5.3 percent, its biggest jump in four years, the WAN report said.
"It has been an extraordinarily positive 12 months for the global newspaper industry," said Timothy Balding, director general of the Paris-based WAN.
"Newspapers are clearly undergoing a renaissance through new products, new formats, new titles, new editorial approaches, better distribution and better marketing."
Despite a tough business environment the advertising pie had expanded, generating more revenue for newspapers, even though the portion of the pie going to the print media was gradually eroding, from 30.5 percent in 2003 to 30.1 percent in 2004.
Revenue grew 29 percent in China last year, more than double the growth in 2003, and 116 percent over five years. It was up 3.93 percent in the world's biggest advertising market, the United States, more than double last year's increase which reversed two years of decline.
While revenue was up, newspapers continued to lose readers in many traditional strongholds, including Europe, though the drop was less sharp than in previous years.
But Balding said reports of the demise of print newspapers with the advent of the Internet and digital media were premature.
"Well over one billion people on planet earth are reading our publications, an impressive figure, I think," he said.
Opening the annual media gathering, WAN acting president Gavin O'Reilly stressed the need to combat attacks on press freedom worldwide.
Press freedom deteriorated worldwide and freedom of expression was under siege in many countries in 2004, the WAN said in its annual press freedom report.
"The press is simply muzzled in many countries," said the report.
"Attacks on journalists are common. Too many killers of journalists remain free."
The report also targeted autocratic regimes throughout the world which repress freedom of expression.
"The suffocation of independent media continues unabated in countries throughout the world," said the report.
O'Reilly challenged the host country South Korea, to reconsider recent media laws enacted by the National Assembly which restrict circulation of some newspapers.
The laws were "incompatible with freedom of the press," he said.
Mahgoub Mohamed Salih, editor-in-chief of Sudan's oldest newspaper Al-Ayam, received the WAN 2005 press freedom award at the opening ceremony.
Salih, 75, has been jailed repeatedly during his more than five decades as a journalist. He received his award from World Editors Forum president George Brock.
"Sudan is one of the most restrictive media climates on the continent of Africa," Brock said. "We call on the Sudanese government to repeal all laws that inhibit press freedom."
GNA
EPKA
30,MAY 05