8% read The Mirror

Most widely read independent weekly

Most dominant paper on WhatsApp platform

BUSINESS REPORTER

HARARE – The Mirror has once again proved to be a premier vehicle for advertising and a trusted source of news after the Zimbabwe All Media and Products Survey (ZAMPS) adjudged it the second most widely read weekly in the country behind The Sunday Mail.
The Masvingo-based paper is also the most widely read independent weekly in the country, according to the survey results presented by ZAMPS before media stakeholders in Harare two weeks ago. It is the fastest growing newspaper on digital platforms, particularly WhatsApp, according to the report.
Ironically Mirror readership rose at a time when total readership fell from 14% in the first half of 2022 to 13% in the second half.
The survey results presented by David Magwaza Rusike, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Expect Research Insight were for the second half of 2022.
The results showed that 8% of the country’s total adult population (8 million people) read The Sunday Mail in the second half of 2022 while The Mirror sits at number two with 1% of the total adult population reading the newspaper. The Daily News on Sunday also has 1% while The Standard is the fourth most widely read national weekly with 0,5% of the adult population reading the newspaper.
The Zimbabwe independent sits at number 4 with 0,4% while The Financial Gazette has 0,3%.
Commenting on the results, Mirror consultant and seasoned journalist, Matthew Takaona said, “ZAMPS confirms what we already knew particularly the inroads that our paper is making on digital platforms. We are the paper with the biggest reach nationally and therefore the best vehicle for advertising.
We have changed our newspaper model to a free newspapers with revenue coming from adverts and this has rapidly increased our reach throughout Zimbabwe and in the Diaspora,” said Takaona.
The survey also showed that The Mirror was the most widely read independent weekly in the four weeks prior to the conclusion of the survey. Some 8% of all the people who read newspapers read The Mirror. This was an increase of 2% from the 6% that read the paper in the first half of 2022.
The Daily News sat on number 2 with 7% of all the readers reading the paper while 4% read The Standard, 2% read Financial Gazette and 5% read Umthunywa.
What also impressed researchers about The Mirror is that the paper has the fastest growing readership on digital platforms with 83% of its readers accessing it on electronic media. Some 66% of that readership is on WhatsApp and WhatsApp is the most accessible digital platform in Zimbabwe followed by Facebook which means that The Mirror is readily accessing readership.
The 66% presence on WhatsApp is the highest for any newspaper in the country. 17% of the readers access The Mirror on E paper while the remaining 17% on other platforms, according to the survey.