When business weeklies don't play nice with circulation numbers

Bruce Spotleson, the publisher of In Business Las Vegas, writes Friday about how his main competitor, the Las Vegas Business Press, has published wildly inflated circulation figures and then a “clarification” to the number.

Spotleson wrote, “When the Las Vegas Business Press listed itself as having a massive circulation of 78,500, something that would make it the most successful business weekly in the nation, we checked that paper’s most recent VAC audit. It showed a weekly circulation of 8,911, or a little more than 11 percent of what was claimed in the newspaper’s very own list.

“But the confusion did not end with those two publications. Other Stephens Media Group products also got caught up in the fable.”

Spotleson later concluded, “So there you have it, a little insight into how some media choose to compete. In a technical sense, yes, the Business Press has ‘clarified’ mistakes that relate to Stephens Media’s competitive position in the market. In a technical sense.

“Meanwhile, those original Business Press lists of local newspapers and magazines will continue with a life all their own, and will likely even be seen again over the course of the next year. Watch for them if you’re ever visiting at Stephens offices. And if you’re not, their salespeople will probably be happy to share with you just how high their publications’ circulation is. Unbelievably high, actually.”

Read more here.