n spite of the fact that Hindi dailies continue to be the highest read, beating all other languages, the average issue readership (or AIR which indicates the estimated number of persons who have read any issue of the publication within a specified time interval) has declined marginally by 1.6 per cent compared to the last round of the Indian Readership Survey (IRS, Round-1). However, absolute figures show a whopping loss of nine lakh readers. Likewise, Marathi dailies, which rank second on the AIR, recorded a decline of 4.76 lakh.

There is some cheer for the English quarter, which increased its AIR by 1.6 lakh compared to the last round. Most of this increase comes from the gains The Times of India (ToI), The Telegraph, Mumbai Mirror, DNA, Mid-Day and The New Indian Express have shown. However, if Round-2 (R-2) of 2006 is considered, Deccan Chronicle is the star of the show - leaping four steps to No 4.... more