hussein baidar module i & ii

7/31/2019 Hussein Baidar Module I & II

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Consumer Preferences in Newspaper: Factors affecting readership of a newspaper

Hussein Baidar Butt

Roll No. 09U0497

BBA Major in Marketing and Minor in Media Studies

Sec: H

Module 1 & 2

Ms. Shamila Khan

14th Oct, 2012


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(Module 1):

About the Organization: Daily Jang

Introduction:

The Daily Jang is an Urdu newspaper based in Pakistan. Jang is the oldest newspaper of Pakistan

in continuous publication since it was founded in 1939. Its current Group Chief Executive is Mir

Shakil-ur-Rahman.

The Daily Jang is published by the Jang Group of Newspapers. The group's flagship Jang is

Pakistan's national Urdu daily. It is published from Karachi, Lahore, Rawalpindi, Quetta, and a

host of other Pakistani cities as well as Birmingham. The newspaper has a circulation of over

800,000 copies per day.

Problem as identified by the Manager

I met the manager and the editor of the newspaper one by one. The problem that they want to be

researched is what are the key factors that consumers look for in a newspaper? In other words,

what factors determine and affect the readership of a newspaper.

So the problem to be addressed by my research is What are the consumer preferences whilechoosing a newspaper?

Significance

The research will help newspapers and editors know the demands of the consumers. It will helpthem identify the needs of the consumers that are being catered to and those that are still to be

addressed. This research will serve as a meter to gauge to what extent the print media of the

country are fulfilling consumer needs.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urdu_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newspaperhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pakistanhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mir_Shakil-ur-Rahmanhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mir_Shakil-ur-Rahmanhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jang_Group_of_Newspapershttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karachihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lahorehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rawalpindihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quettahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birminghamhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birminghamhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quettahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rawalpindihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lahorehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karachihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jang_Group_of_Newspapershttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mir_Shakil-ur-Rahmanhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mir_Shakil-ur-Rahmanhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pakistanhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newspaperhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urdu_language


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Objectives

- To identify what an average consumer requires in a newspaper

- To identify those factors and those elements of the newspaper that affect the readership of

the paper

Scope

1) What is the relationship between the readership and overall ranking of newspaper?

2) What is the relationship between the readership and social status of consumers?

3) What is the relationship between the readership and political situation?

4) What is the relationship between the readership and education?

5) What is the relationship between readership and language of newspaper?

6) What is the relationship between the readership and public image of the publishers?

Assumption: It is assumed that all the respondents gave information without any biases in their

minds and that they were able to calculate certain things (needed to answer certain questions).

The limitations:First of all the sample consisted of a few towns of Lahore city. It was restricted

to one city only mainly due to lack of funds and time. Secondly, the primary data is dependent on


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conclusion drawn from closed-ended questionnaires and interviews of random newspaper

readers.

Important Definitions:

Readership: The readers of a newspaper, magazine, or book regarded collectively: "it has a

readership of 100 million" (Merriam Webster Dictionary)

Preference:A greater liking for one alternative over another or others. (De Merwe 1994)

Social Status:The degree to which an individual has power, influence, or leadership in his or hersocial group. (Mcgraw-Hill)

Public Image:A reproduction of the form of a person or object, especially a sculptured likeness.


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(Module 2):

Literature Review

Readership measurement has focused on usage usually measured with a single critical question.

Brown (1999) discussed the read yesterday question to measure newspaper readership.

Frequency measures like the number of times per week that people read the newspaper are

commonly used in academic studies (e.g., Burgoon & Burgoon, 1980). Time spent reading a

newspaper is also used (e.g., Loges & Ball-Rokeach,1993).

Malthouse and Calder (2002) present a qualitative-variable version of approach using latent

class analysis. It holds nine types of readers, termed reader behavior types (RBTs). One RBT is

heavy readers, who spend considerable time, and read most of the newspaper on both weekdays.

Another RBT is selective heavy readers who read frequently and spend considerable time but

read less than half of it. Another is Sunday-only light readers, who read a fraction of the paper on

Sundays. The RBT measure is found to complement the RBS measures. Heavy readers are foundat the high end of the RBS distribution and Sunday-only lights at the low end. Thus RBTs

provide qualitative information making the RBS scores more interpretable.

Cultural and other forms of use are said to have become radically individualized, reflecting

individuals free will as they construct their personal lifestyles and identities (e.g., Bauman 1988;

Beck 1992; Lash and Urry 1994). These claims are challenging, and they have been subject to

strong criticism on various empirical grounds (cf. Warde 1997; Warde and Martens 2000;

Tomlinson 2003).


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A class structure we see as grounded specially in the social relations of economic life i.e., in the

social relations of labor markets and production units. While generating differential and often

extreme advantage and disadvantage, a class structure does not take on the consistently

hierarchical form as a rule. (Dahrendorf 1959, pp. 7477; Giddens 1973, p.106).

This order of occupations is broadly in line with that which emerges from other similar research

in Britain and elsewhere (e.g., Laumann 1966; Pappi 1973; Coxon and Jones 1978; Stewart et al.

1980). However, in one important aspect our results are different. Not only the priary but also the

second and, to some degree, the third dimensions of our multidimensional scaling exercise are

interpretable. Especially, the second dimension is highly correlated with the degree of

occupational sex isolation, while the third dimension would appear to pick up various

occupational issues (Morris and Murphy 1959). To the extent that these two further dimensions

capture the effects of workplace environments on the opportunities for friendship formation, the

first dimension, being thus purged of such influence, should more closely reflect friendship

choice as affected by social status (Chan and Goldthorpe 2004, pp. 38789).

The second point to note is that the status order we identify may correlate sensibly with income

and education, respectively, and there are some occupational categories whose status appears

contrasting with their income and/or education (see also Abbott 1981). For example, plant,

depot, and site managers, buyers and sales representatives, and skilled and related manual

workers in construction and metal trades have clearly higher levels of income than a number of

other categories that rank above them in the status order. Moreover, when likely status score is

regressed on income and education, the co-efficient of income turns out to be non-significant

(Chan and Goldthorpe 2004, p. 392). What is indicated then is that status, equality, and

inferiority, is expected to be distinct empirically and conceptually from socioeconomic status

as represented by measures that synthesize information on income and education (e.g., Duncan

1961; Ganzeboom and Treiman1996).


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Theoretical Framework

Theoretical framework explains how independent variables affect the dependent variable i.e.

success of new service launch. Following is a framework that analyses different combinations of

variable that can lead to the selection of paper by a reader.

Expenditure

Media advertisment

Factors affecting

readership of newspaper

Chances of

selection of the

paper

Once Selected

Language

Ranking

Social Status of reader

Education

Depends on

certain

combinations

of variables

Higher

readership

Size of paper

Quality of paper


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hussein baidar module i & ii

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