Clarifying dual-language AMPS measurement

The way in which readers of dual-language publications have been measured in AMPS has created uncertainty in the past. The SAARF Print Council has, however, decided that the mastheads of dual-language publications will be shown separately, but on the same double-screen CAPI.

During 2007, the print industry approved a new way of measuring dual-language publications via the SAARF Print Council. A general rule was formulated that, in future, if the ABC gives a combined circulation figure for separate magazines, the mastheads of both these magazines will be shown to the AMPS respondents on the same show card, if they share the same advertising content.

However, if the ABC gives separate figures for the different magazines, then these will be put on separate cards and reported separately.

At the same time, some of the publications that were affected by this decision underwent circulation changes. According to SAARF, it is thus impossible to determine to what extent the changes in readership that have been observed can be ascribed to the new way of measuring these publications, or to the changes in circulation.

In light of this uncertainty, SAARF is requesting users to view the current readership figures for dual-language publications (ie publications that share an ABC and advertising content) with this in mind.

As SAARF introduced double-screen CAPI (DS-CAPI) at the beginning of 2009, it is now possible to change the way these titles are measured by using separate prompts on the same screen to avoid title confusion.

Thus, after extensive discussions at the recent SAARF Print Council meeting, it was decided that the mastheads of dual-language publications will, in future, be shown separately but still be on the same DS-CAPI screen.