The newspaper increased its number of readers from a year round average figure of 144,000 for 2002, to 177,000 for 2003. Largest gains were seen in the affluent, tertiary-level educated, middle-class bracket. Group CEO, Lo Wing Hung, attributes the rise to a greater commitment to editorial content and effective marketing following the paper's relaunch in 2002 as the voice of Hong Kong's middle class. "We focussed on the middle class -- in Hong Kong there is no broad middle class newspaper, other newspapers have a very narrow positioning," he said.
"We have pushed objective reporting and news, and have rolled out new sections to target middle class readers," added Lo.
MindShare business director Ralph Szeto believes that the readership figures confirm Sing Tao's status as Hong Kong's third newspaper, after Oriental Daily News and Apple Daily. "It is no surprise to see this -- they have been improving in terms of editorial quality and layout," he said. "It is still focussed on property but has become more comprehensive on general news, social news and finance to now possess more mass appeal."
Sing Tao garners 25pc readership rise after revamp
Sing Tao Daily has increased its readership by 25 per cent, according to the latest figures from the AC Nielsen media index.