The Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC) gave the print industry a stern
warning, saying it was “reprehensible and disgusting†that
certain titles were manipulating their stated circulation figures, writes Thom McLachlan in Business Day.
“Whether we like it or not, we’re at a crossroads and the print industry is at stake here,†ABC president and chief financial officer at Caxton, Gordon Utian, said yesterday.
He said ABC members had not realised that “the rules had changed†since previous years and risked “sailing too close to the wind†by manipulating their figures.
Utian said that while the ABC and the Magazine Publishers’ Association of SA (Mpasa) had come under attack, the advertising and marketing industries were equally to blame. “Who in the ad industry actually looks into the details? They spend billions on behalf of their clients  but who checks?â€ÂÂ
The ABC uncovered circulation figure manipulations in August in seven of industry-leading magazine publisher Media24’s women’s titles.
Click here to read the full report, posted on Business Day's website.ÂÂÂ
