The Philippine Daily Inquirer is now the No.1 broadsheet in Metro Manila as well as nationwide. This was confirmed by two separate studies for the third quarter of 2008, the Nielsen Media Index and the Synovate Media Atlas.
It is the first time the PDI has taken the top spot in Metro Manila since 2001.
While PDI has had a solid, substantial lead in nationwide readership since then, previously it was slightly edged out in Metro Manila by either the Philippine Star (PS) or the Manila Bulletin (MB). But as the country’s business and government center, Manila’s readership figures are disproportionately influential.
According to the Nielsen Q3 2008 survey, the Inquirer had 47% readership (about 947,000 readers) among those who said they had read a broadsheet the day before. The Bulletin came second with 36%, the Star third with 34%.
Also striking was an 8% jump in readership figures compared to the previous quarter─the biggest single jump in seven years. This is based on interviews conducted between February-August 2008.
The second study, Synovate’s latest Media Atlas, also showed PDI as the broadsheet of choice for 44% of those who read English dailies every day. The study was conducted between July 2007 and June 2008.
An analysis published in PDI points out that the readership gain is a first-time occurrence. The analysis, by PDI editorial consultant Amando Doronila, notes: "There’s no immediate explanation for the Inquirer’s dramatic surge, whether it is due to a fresh editorial formula or the configuration of events that the paper handled well. What seems apparent is that the competition for dominance in readership has been volatile during the past seven years, and the Inquirer cannot be smug about consolidating its breakthrough. The Bulletin and the Star remain formidable threats to leadership in readership." < width="500" height="212" align="left" src=" PDI. " alt="" />
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