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Indian newspapers in uproar over readership survey findings, quit research body

The results of a newspaper readership study in India have created an uproar among publishers, with many rejecting the findings and withdrawing their membership from a research body.

Eighteen members of the Indian Newspaper Society, such as The Hindu, Bennett, Coleman & Co – publisher of The Times of India – have backed out of the Media Research Users Council after findings from the Indian Readership Survey were deemed to be “badly flawed” and containing “shocking anomalies”, according to a story in The Times of India.

The publishers have pointed to curious results in the report, such as the circulation of Nagpur English-language newspaper Hitavada dropping from 60,000 to zero, to suggest that it’s findings are erroneous.

A statement from the INS read: “The survey is riddled with shocking anomalies, which defy logic and commonsense. They also grossly contradict audited circulation figures of longstanding.”

The organisation also called on advertisers and media agencies to boycott the survey. The continued use of the survey would “cause irreparable injury to the reputation of established publications,” the INS stated.

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