The Audit Bureau of Circulation (ABC) board has approved a new six monthly certificate for independent grassroots newspapers.

The new ABC Grassroots Certificate is designed to audit smaller rural, township and neighbourhood publications that cannot afford the costs associated with full ABC membership.

ABC general manager Charles Beiles says the certificate will confirm print orders, methods of distribution, and frequency of publication, but not actual circulation.

Grassroots newspapers that apply for certification will instead be required to provide the ABC with invoices from their printers confirming the exact print run and frequency of each of their publications over the preceding six-month period. They will also file details of whether their publications are sold or free, and how they are distributed.

The resulting certificate will be valid for six months.

Only publications that are members in good standing with the Association of Independent Publishers (AIP), and that abide by both the Press Ombudsman and Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) codes are eligible for the new certificate.

"There is a perception amongst advertisers that many smaller publishers exaggerate their print runs and circulation. The new ABC Grassroots Certificate will address these concerns by using rigorous inspections to weed out the fly-by-night operators, without burdening emergent publications with the considerable financial and logistic burden that comes with full ABC certification," explains AIP president, Justin Arenstein.

"It will also encourage legitimate grassroots publishers to subscribe to the same professional standards – and accountability - as the rest of the industry."

The system will be vigorously policed, with ABC inspectors conducting regular site visits at printers to verify print runs for all publications registered for the new certificate. Publishers who mislead the public about their print figures or other publication details will risk public censure, ABC deregistration, and disciplinary action by AIP.

The new certificate is being jointly spearheaded by ABC and AIP, and has been endorsed as a major breakthrough by the statutory Media Development & Diversity Agency (MDDA), by Print Media SA (PMSA), and other media development bodies.

Beiles stresses that the advertising and marketing industry is supporting the initiative, and that its representatives on the ABC board actively assisted in designing the audit and certification process to ensure that it is credible.

"The fact that both the advertising and marketing industries have thrown their weight behind the initiative means that the new certificate will be a meaningful and credible tool for smaller publishers," concurs Arenstein.

"It is important, however, to understand that this new certificate is not a dead end for grassroots publishers. It is meant to be a stepping stone for them to graduate to full ABC certification as their businesses and expertise grow."

Full ABC certification requires routine independent auditing of circulation figures, including actual sales and distribution, bulk deliveries, voucher copies, print runs, and receipts. Publishers are required to pay ABC membership fees based on their circulation figures.

Media planners and advertisers use the resulting ABC data to select the most appropriate publications for their campaigns. Publications without ABC certificates are finding it increasingly difficult to attract national or even local advertisers.

"Everyone recognises that advertisers need an impartial yard stick to evaluate publications. But, at the same time, the massive growth in the number of titles on the market means that publishing is becoming a numbers game, with the size of your print run often counting for more with advertisers than the actual quality of content or even the nature of your readership," says Arenstein.

"This new certificate gives smaller publishers the tools to compete for that advertising on a more even footing."

The technical specifications and application procedures can be found on both the AIP and ABC websites, or by simply clicking here.

AIP is southern Africa’s largest umbrella association of independent newspapers and magazines. It proactively campaigns for greater media diversity and pluralism by providing grassroots publishers with business tools, training, specialist advice, and discounted access to key services and supplies.