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Tag: Paritsoh Joshi

  • INS gives ultimatum; MRUC to meet tomorrow

    INS gives ultimatum; MRUC to meet tomorrow

    NEW DELHI/MUMBAI: The revamped Indian Readership Survey (IRS) was supposed to create a new paradigm, but has instead turned out to be a nightmare for Media Research Users Council (MRUC).

     

    The Indian Newspaper Society (INS) today issued an ultimatum to MRUC, a not-for-profit body of advertisers, advertising agencies, publishers and broadcasters, to withdraw IRS 2013 within 24 hours or face total rejection of the findings of the survey by the publishers.

     

    Indiantelevision.com had reported earlier that the INS representatives would be meeting officials from MRUC today to discuss issues raised by publishers. Today’s meeting was held in two rounds: the first meeting had print publishers discuss the future course of action while the second one delivered the ultimatum to MRUC.

     

    The INS is unwilling to climb down from its demand for complete withdrawal of the survey within 24 hours, the contract for which was given to Nielsen.

     

    The INS representatives attending the meeting were unanimous in their demand for complete withdrawal of the IRS 2013 survey as the first corrective step. The publishers raised several questions regarding the methodology and mechanism based on which the survey findings were arrived at.

     

    To decide on what should be MRUC’s next course of action, its officials will have a meeting with the Readership Studies Council of India (RSCI), a joint body of MRUC and Audit Bureau of Circulation (ABC). INS Newspaper Society Chairman Mohit Jain confirmed the news and said: “We have also asked MRUC to conduct an extraordinary meeting tomorrow at 11.30 am and decide about today’s discussions.”

     

    “What happens next will be decided tomorrow by the RSCI,” says IRS Technical Committee Chairman Paritosh Joshi, who is personally saddened by the way things are taking shape.

     

    Sources say if MRUC fails to take action, INS may issue an advisory to its members asking them not to subscribe to IRS in the future and also not to use the mast heads of their newspapers in future surveys, and may consider supporting some newspapers going to court against the findings to get a stay order on the use of the latest IRS numbers by media planners and advertisers.

     

    A group of 18 publishers, which include The Times of India, Dainik Jagran, Bhaskar, India Today, Ananda Bazar Patrika, Lokmat, Outlook, Daily News and Analysis (DNA), Sakshi, The Hindu, Amar Ujala, The Tribune, Bartaman Patrika, Aaj Samaj, The Statesman, Mid Day, Nai Duniya and Dinakaran, have been vocal about their dismay with the numbers.

     

    The publishers felt that there was arbitrary decline in aggregate readership of certain publications. A majority of the publications are negatively affected by the 2013 survey which is based on a new methodology.

     

    Sources from the print industry shared the data, which shows how particular publications lost their Average Issue Readership (AIR) in a drastic way in some states.

  • IRS 2013 fate to be decided on Monday

    IRS 2013 fate to be decided on Monday

    MUMBAI: Early this week, when Indian Readership Survey (IRS), which was published after a year, the Indian print media waited with bated breath to see how has it done – good, bad or ugly?

     

    Since the survey conducted by Media Research Users Council (MRUC) and its new vendor Nielsen has been made public, things have turned ugly.

     

    A lot of publishers are not happy with the data and the new methodology used this time.  Many of them have openly voiced their dismay with it. For instance, the Hindu carried a piece from its editor-in-chief saying, “IRS, in relation to The Hindu, is riddled with inconsistencies and with findings that defy common sense and reach the level of absurdity that its credibility has been totally damaged.”

     

    Across the country, leading newspapers have said the new methodology used in the IRS has a lot of glitches and contradicts the figures of the Audit Bureau of Circulation (ABC), which shows the number of copies printed.

     

    The issue has taken a serious turn. A group of 18 leading newspaper groups, including the Times of India, Jagran, Bhaskar, Outlook, Lokmat and The Hindu, on Jan 30 issued a joint statement rubbishing the findings of the 2013 IRS survey.

     

    The group of publishers has called upon MRUC to immediately withdraw the latest IRS results and put a stop to all future editions of the survey based on the new methodology.

     

    The Indian Newspaper Society (INS) will meet with the MRUC on Monday (3 January) to discuss the issues in the IRS survey.

     

    The chairman of MRUC, Ravi Rao, was unavailable for comment.

     

    Paritosh Joshi, the Chairman of IRS’ Technical Committee, didn’t hide his disappointment and said if data is recalled or any other similar step is taken, it will be “shattering” for him. “All I want to say is that technology-wise we have used the best methodology. We also checked upon it routinely. What is surprising is that publishers were aware of the process used and it wasn’t a bolt from the blue. It was all out in the open and we delivered best to our capabilities.”

     

    The fate of the survey would be decided on Monday, till then we can only wait to see what happens next.