Newspapers are known for their news digesting function, flashing light, and providing analysis of current affairs. There are about 600,000 people who read one or more newspapers a week in Swaziland, with local newspapers accounting for the majority of readers.
The kingdom’s oldest newspaper, the Times of Swaziland, has the largest weekly readership with around 500,000 readers per week. This is followed by The Times Sunday, which is part of the Times group of newspapers, The Swazi Observer and The Swazi news, The Weekend Observe respectively. South African newspapers with the largest readership in Swaziland include the Sowetan and the Sunday Times.
The newspaper can be obtained from various places in the kingdom. This includes at home, at work, public libraries, schools, reception areas, clinics, public transportation, etc. This means that there are more people reading a single copy than actually circulating. Read per copy is estimated to average 4 RPC across all local newspapers.
In terms of readership within the 4 districts of the kingdom, Hhohho leads followed by Manzini, Lubombo and Shiselweni. Men read more at older ages, while younger women read more than their male counterparts. Newspaper readership in Swaziland significantly peaks between the ages of 25 and 44, with males between the ages of 35 and 44 being the highest newspaper readers.
During a survey by Knotell, a Swaziland-based full-service marketing firm, it was found that, overall, more men aged 35-54 are more likely to read a newspaper than their female counterparts in Swaziland. Younger women between the ages of 10 to 24 are also likely to read more than their male counterparts. The Times of Swaziland is the most widely read across all age groups, with ages 25-44 being the highest. The Sunday Times is the second most widely read within the 35-44 age group, the Swazi Observer rivaling the Sunday Times for Cume readership.
This information comes from a Media Audience Measurement Report (Swazi-MAMS) available for free at http://www.infoshopswaziland.com. The survey was conducted by http://www.knotell.co.sz in all major areas of the kingdom. You can visit this page to check for updates on newspaper exposure statistics in Swaziland.