It is with deep regret that I write to you. I have worked for Fairfax for many years and have been closely involved with the circulation department for at least ten years.

All publishers are allowed under audit rules to give away up to 1% of total circulation for means of sampling at major events, and we have stuck to this for many years. But now, [chief operating officer Brian] Evans has declared that he will not accept another drop in circulation for either the Herald or Sun-Herald. Here’s some examples of what he has done to ensure we grow sales:

1. For many months we’ve been claiming 15-20K sales a week for Sun-Herald at Greater Union cinemas across Sydney even though we don’t give away anywhere near that and get complaints from cinema managers about leftovers.

2. We are now trying to give away approx 5,000 papers every day in Fitness First gyms (I’m told there are many leftovers – don’t know if we’re claiming them). We have also cut newsagents out of the distribution so they don’t get any benefit from this which has upset many of them.

3. We will soon be giving away The Herald and Sun-Herald for free with breakfast in McDonald’s stores in Sydney

4. We are giving away well in excess of 1% of our sale at major events – even giving people morning editions of papers in the evening when they are well out of date. We claimed around 50,000 sales for the City to Surf fun run when I don’t think we gave away anything like that amount.

5. We’ve been giving away papers in museums, art galleries, cafes and any other public place that we’ve been able to buy off with contra advertising.

CRIKEY: Crikey contacted each of the companies named by our insider to verify these claims. Fitness First confirmed that they do have a deal with Fairfax, but declined to talk numbers. A McDonald’s spokesman told us that the franchise didn’t have a deal with Fairfax, to his knowledge. Greater Union didn’t get back to us. We contacted Brian Evans at Fairfax, but were redirected to corporate spokesman Bruce Wolpe, who said he had “no comment for Crikey.”

We also contacted Steven Hollings, chairman of the Audit Bureau of Circulations, to ask him about the ABC’s three-month “review of the audit process,” which by Crikey’s calculations should be just about complete. We were told by Hollings’s PA that he was in “back to back meetings” and wouldn’t have time to get back to us. Crikey has been attempting to talk to Hollings about circulation matters for the past month, without success.