A feel-good Philstar that people can read from cover to cover

The Philstar or the Philippine Star is one of the leading newspapers in the Philippines and pride itself as the only paper readers can read from cover to cover. This newspaper is a new player in the market, and this was established on July 28, 1986. The birth of the paper happened right after the famous EDSA Revolution. This was the time when the media as a whole was liberated from the control of the dictatorship, and the media organizations was the again given the freedom that it deserves. This scenario paved the way for the development of many media organizations, and one of these is the Philstar. The paper is circulated around the Philippines and this paper also boasts the fact that the paper has an established circulation in Hong Kong and Saudi Arabia.

The paper markets itself as the presenter of comprehensive coverage of the news, its balanced reporting and also a responsible way of addressing journalism. The paper is positioned well in the market and directly competes with the other two leading newspapers in the country- The Philippine Daily Inquirer and Manila Bulletin.

Based on the latest data provided by research organization Neilsen Media Index, the paper is considered as the most read broadsheet at least in Metropolitan Manila for the first quarter of 2008. Based on the same survey, the paper garnered 47.4 percent of the reading public from Monday to Saturday. The survey results for the paper for the last quarter of 2007 also showed that the paper is competing well in the industry.

Based on the 2007 survey, the Philstar was considered as the most read and the number one broadsheet for the ABC1 socio-economic lass. The paper averaged 47.3 percent for the last semester of 2007 and this figure was a marked improvement from the 35.7 percent of the same time period for 2006. In terms of the advertising pie, the paper also eats up a significant portion of the market. In a study and survey that was conducted by the Nielsen Media Research Print Advertising Information Service, it was found out that the paper received most of the advertising expenditure for 2007. In that study, it was found out that the Philippine Star leads them all.

The list made by the Nielsen Media Research Print Advertising Information Service for 2007

. Philippine Star P2.97 billion
. Philippine Daily Inquirer P2.68 billion
. Manila Bulletin P1.35 billion

The paper is an innovator in the field as well. The paper was the first one in the market to tap the then new technology of SMS. This technology was used to get the opinions of the readers and these opinions are then published on the opinion page. One whole page of the paper is used to host the messages, comments and suggestions of the readers. This page can be seen usually on Sundays. This innovation by the paper was a huge success and this was then copied by other papers in the country. Tabloids and the other broadsheets copied the concept by the Philstar.

The paper is divided into four general sections; the news, lifestyle features, business features and other sections.

News section of the Philstar

. Headlines
. Opinion
. Metro
. Business
. Nation
. News Feature
. Sports
. Entertainment

Lifestyle section of the Philstar will include

. Arts and Culture
. Health and Family
. Business Life
. Fashion and Beauty
. Food and Leisure
. Young Star
. Modern Living
. Sunday Life
. Travel

The paper will come complete with the Starweek magazine every Sunday.

The paper continues to gain recognition not just in terms of sales and share in the advertising pie. The paper on its 20th year was awarded a special citation- the Newspaper of the Year Award. The award was given by the Rotary Club of Manila. In their statement, the Rotary Club of Manila said that the paper was consistent in effectively upholding the principles of responsible journalism and the paper was also fair and balanced in their reporting. The paper was also named as the Outstanding Newspaper of the Year for 2006 and the award for Philstar was given by the Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption.