Ask Dr. Paine
Your measurement questions answered.
Email yours to Katharine Delahaye Paine.

This month:
“What’s the Universal Factor for
Average Number of Readers?”

Question:

From: C.W.
Sent: Monday, July 22, 2002
To: 'kdpaine@kdpaine.com'
Subject: Universal Factor

May I enquire what is the current universal factor that one would use for the average number of readers for editorial content, this being applied to measuring media coverage.

Best Regards
C. W.

Answer:

From: Katharine D. Paine
Sent: Monday, July 22, 2002
To: C.W.
Subject: RE: Universal Factor

The Institute for PR recommends using audited circulation figures (without pass-along or other multipliers) to determine the opportunities to see for any given media story. Essentially, that means that the universal factor is 1. There is no "universal" average, because the actual number of pass-along readers varies tremendously from country to country and industry to industry. Hope that answers your question. Good luck, KDP.