Shay Cullen has an article called "Reflections" in the Manila Times and according to Wikipedia, Manila Times is the fourth-largest selling newspaper in the Philippines.  Interestingly, it seems that even Wikipedia has a few issues with the posting of the information, but that is not what is interesting; not by a long shot.

      What is interesting is that my wife and I had been trying to obtain the newspaper for the last year in Olongapo.  Then we went to San Fernando, much closer to Manila to get the newspaper, and finally, we asked people we know who live in Manila.  Not only people we know, of course, as my wife has relatives in both Pasay and Tondo, near the Port Authority (another name for the Port Area mentioned in the Wikipedia article above).

   Then, as a last resort, my wife and I personally took a trip into Manila to get a Sunday copy so that we could read Shay Cullen's "Reflections" column in print and not on the Internet.  Imagine our lack of surprise when we could not get ONE COPY anywhere!  No one, and I mean NO ONE, had any idea of what newspaper was the Manila Times.  We were shown copies of the Manila Bulletin, Manila Standard and others, but there was NO "Manila Times".

   Now, I know that there is often a bit of exaggeration in telling facts here.  After all, according to some tourist pamphlets I obtained, the Philippines is the THIRD LARGEST ENGLISH SPEAKING COUNTRY IN THE WORLD.  So, where does that place the United States, Canada, Australia, India, South Africa and the United Kingdom?  But, you see, the exxaggeration of this fact is a simple ploy to get more tourists, and therefore not really malicious at all.

   This just in:  I just got a copy of The Manila Times dated today, 25 August 2009!  Here are its characteristics of this fourth-largest circulation newspaper:  It is sixteen numbered pages (eight sheets of standard newspaper stock) divided into sections A, B and C.  The "Classified" section took up all of page C3 and consisted of a mere    twelve (12) ads, TWO of which were for The Manila Times and six (6) from government offices (I did not count the one for the Gaming Commission, either, but that was one of the classified ads).   The cost of this newspaper is a very inexpensive fifteen Pesos (P15), which is somewhat less than the cost of other newspaper offerings (usually running from P20-P30, although a few were the same or actually cheaper).

   But the exxaggeration that a newspaper is the fourth largest in circulation in support of Shay Cullen's column when the newspaper is that hard to find on the streets of Manila, and not even known about in other large cities less than 200 KM from Manila, what does that tell you?    Now, I'm not saying the paper is UNKNOWN in other cities, mind you, but the fact that I could not get the paper in Olongapo or in San Fernando and the meagerness of the amount of income from classified advertising should have some indicator as to the circulation facts, shouldn't it?