Comments on: How Sun readers vote

By: Jack

Jack — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 14:16:07 +0000

‘To get back to the subject of the blog – I’m not surprised that not many Sun readers are Liberals. Again, no evidence, but one imagines that they would tend to have fairly basic, strong opinions one way or the other, without much wishy-washyness.’

Alternatively Liberals can read …

By: promsan

promsan — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 11:31:59 +0000

here’s another source on the question of turnout…

www2 .politicalbetting.com/index.php/archives/2009/10/02/how-voting-splits-according-to-newspaper-type/

By: promsan

promsan — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 10:24:47 +0000

As for scotland, the Scotsman although in chronic decline, seems to do a lot better online than on the street; in complete contrast to the Record; the Herald seems practically invisible.
Scottish Sun seems to be doing ok.

trends.google.com/websites?q=dailyrecord.co.uk%2Cscotsman.com%2Cwww.heraldscotland.com&geo=GB&date=all&sort=1

Scottish Mirror, Star, and Mail, and Express don’t do their own sites.

It’s a different narrative in Scotland anyway, one that probably won’t change until/unless independence happens or the movement is broken somehow.

By: promsan

promsan — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 10:14:26 +0000

NB, that the online traffic does not pair up with the meatspace circulation.

(Maybe I should do my own polling site! Focus on papers and the Others!?)

By: promsan

promsan — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 10:12:03 +0000

@PB
“I’d allow lunatics the vote – after all, you have to allow the Prime Minister to have one.”

…you probably have to be a lunatic to want to be PM these days!

I agree with the small biz/trades depiction of the Sun reader; but I strongly believe that the turnout for red top readers is much lower than for quasi-qualities (e.g. the Times) and niche-qualities (e.g. Economist); plus I think the political activity is also much less (in terms of discussing politiics and getting people to vote and going on marches… mind you the EDL look like reversing that latter propensity). I expect the Sun to maintain a steady drift to the right, which will make the election beyond the next one particularly interesting, given the steady decline of newspaper circulations…

www guardian co uk/media/table/2009/sep/11/abcs-pressandpublishing

The shift in Star and Indy circulations says a lot to me… I once did a spell in a building college not too many years ago, and observed the Star being read, and talked to those reading it… gossip, football, and crossword, that’s all; not politics and voting… most tellingly, the irrelevance and antipathy towards Labour was already there in way it didn’t use to be in the 90s and earlier.

http : // trends.google.com/websites?q=sun.co.uk%2Cdailymail.co.uk%2Ctelegraph.co.uk%2Ctimesonline.co.uk%2Cguardian.co.uk%2Cindependent.co.uk&geo=GB&date=all&sort=1

longer-term Rising traffic
Daily Mail

longer-term Falling traffic (high traffic)
Sun, Telegraph, Guardian, Times

longer-term Falling traffic (medium traffic)
FT, Mirror, Independent

low traffic:
Express, Daily Record, Daily Star,

I think that provides some hints towards the likely demographic and turnout of particular newspaper readers.