Apostol unlikely to repeat Inquirer feat

Philippine tabloid Pinoy Times saw its distribution climb from 60,000 to 100,000 copies a day during the recent presidential crisis, but few believe its publisher has another Philippine Daily Inquirer in the making. The tabloid's founder Eugenia Apostol was once the single biggest stockholder of the Inquirer, the country's leading daily. Pinoy Times came to public notice in October last year, when it published its first Saturday special edition, featuring pictures and details of deposed President Joseph Estrada's mistresses. The opinion-laden publication sells at six pesos and is reportedly earning 7.2 million pesos a year. Written in the native Tagalog has allowed the paper to reach the masses. But with the impeachment over, few believe Pinoy Times will grow to challenge the established dailies. "Its readership may have grown slightly during the impeachment period, but that is true for most newspapers as well as other news and public affairs programmes on TV and radio," said McCann-Erickson head of media Venus Navalta. "The market as it is - newspaper readership is on a decline and advertisers usually use just two or three publications in their campaigns - can barely support the current offerrings. "Advertisers also tend to support what is perceived as balanced news reporting." Pinoy Times advertising associate Blanca Abata said it was not competing with the major dailies, but it was definitely claiming a significant portion of the reading public.

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