The Philippines’ biggest newspaper dealers like Delfin and Cely Santos debunked yesterday a survey conducted by Nielsen Media Research, published last Sunday by the Philippine Daily Inquirer, supposedly showing that The STAR is a "far third" among the country’s main newspapers.
"Parehas lang. Hindi totoong far third ang Philippine STAR. Hindi sila nagkakalayo ng Inquirer (They are neck and neck. It’s not true that Philippine STAR is a far third. It’s not far behind Inquirer)," Cely Santos said.
The Santos couple has a distribution network in Luzon and Metro Manila.
Balanced reporting endears The STAR to readers, she added.
Melrose Yanga, a dealer in several towns in Pampanga, maintained that The STAR is "not one-sided" unlike some other newspapers. "Balanced ang mga balita sa STAR. Nakukuha lahat ng sides (Stories in The STAR are balanced. They get all sides)."
"Ang Philippine STAR ang number one. Dito sa amin, iyon ang hanap ng tao. Hindi talaga kami makapaniwala na pangatlo lang ito (The Philippine STAR is number one. In our place, people are really looking for that. We really can’t believe when the survey said that it is only the third)," said Jimmy Gonzales, a newspaper dealer for the entire Negros Occidental and parts of Negros Oriental.
Gonzales said The STAR is the "best selling" newspaper, followed by Inquirer in the Negros provinces and he and other dealers were surprised when they read the survey.
The survey said Inquirer is the most read with a daily readership of 1.5 million followed by the Manila Bulletin with 1.4 million and The STAR with 833,000.
The survey was reportedly conducted among 2,500 respondents aged 10 and above from all socio-economic classes in Metro Manila and 20 cities in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao last February.
"Inisip ko nga saan kaya number one?’ Baka number one sa returns (I was thinking number one in what terms? Maybe, number one in returns)," Gonzales said in jest, referring to unsold copies.
Dealer Mercy Navarro said it is a close fight in Baguio City and the Mountain Province. "Base sa sales namin, maliit lang ang dipirensiya. At saka hindi third ang STAR (Based on our sales, the difference is small. And The STAR is not third)," she said, adding that Inquirer’s lead is so small it can be overtaken.
Marilou Ty, a newspaper dealer in Iloilo and parts of Antique, shared Gonzales’s view.
"Hindi ‘yon totoo. Paanong sila ang number one, mas maraming order sa amin ng Philippine STAR? Masyado iyong unfair (It’s not true. How come they are number one when there are more orders for the Philippine STAR. That’s so unfair)," she added.
She claimed that during weekdays, she usually sells much more copies of The STAR than the Inquirer.
Ty and her husband Eduardo, the vice president of the News Dealers Association in the Visayas, have been supplying newsstands, commercial malls and offices for the past several years.
From time to time, Ty asks their customers for comments about a particular newspaper.
"Sabi nila mas balanced daw ang mga balita sa Philippine STAR. Mababasa mo ang lahat ng sides (They say that the news in the Philippine STAR are balanced. You can read all sides)," she said.
Dealer Estrella Capitan, of Cagayan, Iligan and Mizamis, said the gap between The STAR and Inquirer is so slim.
A newspaper dealer in Nueva Ecija, who asked not to be named, agreed, saying that reports carried by The STAR usually bring hope to the public.
"Ang mga balita daw sa Inquirer nakakasawa — mostly bad news. Pangit tuloy ang nape-paint na picture sa atin It’s not doing our country any good (The news stories in Inquirer are wearisome. It is painting a ugly picture for us)," the dealer added.
Mimi Valeriano, a dealer in Bulacan province, said Inquirer could claim to be No. 1 but The STAR is definitely not third.
"Sobra mali na number three ang Philippine STAR. Pwedeng slightly leading ang Inquirer nationwide pero dito sa Bulacan, nangunguna ang STAR (It’s very wrong that The Philippine STAR is number three. The Inquirer can be slightly leading but here in Bulacan, The STAR is No. 1)," she said.
Valeriano echoed that many readers go for The STAR because of its "balanced" news.
Newsstand operator Josie Caberic, on the other hand, said The STAR is favored by readers because of its wide range of interesting sections. She sells newspapers near the corner of McKinley Road and EDSA in Makati City.
"Makapal daw at maraming mababasa. Kumpleto daw. Sabi nila sulit kapag Philippine STAR ang binili nila," she said. Early this year, Inquirer had stopped printing the total number of its pages on the front page when The STAR was beating them on this.
Newsboy Rey Olazo, of Cuyo in Pinagkaisahan, Makati, maintained that readers are already fed up with negative news stories that they prefer The STAR. He sells newspapers along McKinley Road in Makati.
"Ayaw daw nilang magbasa lagi ng masamang balita. Sa Philippine STAR daw, nakakaramdam sila ng pag-asa (They no longer want to read about bad news. With the Philippine STAR, they become hopeful)," he added.
Mario Moreno, a newsboy at the corner of Makati Avenue and Paseo de Roxas in Makati City, said that he sells more copies of The STAR than any other broadsheet.
"Iyon ang lagi nilang hinahanap. Colorful daw at mas marami daw silang nababasa (They always asked for it. It’s colorful and there are more articles to read)," he added.