Newspaper circulation in South Africa is steady, despite a 40 percent increase in transportation costs, as well as higher paper prices and labour costs, Audit Bureau of Circulations SA figures have shown.

Most newspapers “have shown some fantastic developments,” in the second quarter, said Gordon Patterson, of ABC, according to Biz-Community Africa.

“Daily newspapers are stable and have reduced emphasis in PMIE (print media in education) and third party bulks, with healthy growth seen in typical blue collar titles, Patterson said, Biz-Community reported. Weekly titles that did not fare so well were “driven by losses suffered by larger titles, but a concerning increase was seen in third party bulks.”

KwaZulu-Natal-based dailies also didn't do as well as other dailies, perhaps do to economic pressures, the report stated. Meanwhile, weekend titles, community newspapers and free newspapers were stable overall, Biz-Community reported.

Most growth is happening due to new title launches, Patterson said.