Stars on Sunday
Encyclopedia
Stars on Sunday was an unsuccessful Sunday tabloid newspaper in Ireland
which famously went bankrupt in May 2003 just two months after its launch the previous March. A total of approximately €500,000 was invested in the title. The newspaper was aimed at a mainly female under-45 readership, with a Joint National Readership Research report indicating that 53% of Irish women read a daily newspaper, but 66% read a Sunday newspaper. Ireland on Sunday (now the Irish Mail on Sunday) was named as having the most potential for loss of readership when Stars on Sunday was announced, whilst The Star
newspaper accused Stars on Sunday of using a title similar to its own but on seeking legal advice was told that there was no reason to pursue legal action.
Stars on Sunday branded itself as Ireland's first all-colour newspaper. The first issue had a print run of 105,000, if the 5,000 figures to be distributed free at Dublin's DART
stations were included. John Donnelly, the co-managing director of Ashville Media and one of the backers of the newspaper suggested it would initially have a circulation of 50,000, which he thought achievable in the first six months of availability. He expected the first issue to sell between 60,000 to 70,000. MCM media buyer Debbie Kiely was sceptical of such a proposal, saying the newspaper would be doing well if it had 25,000 to 30,000 sales in its first few issues. Jason Nebenzahl of Initiative Media ominously suggested that "time will tell".
Stars on Sunday was edited by 26-year-old Aoife Byrne, who had spent the previous four years at the magazine and design company New Century Publishing where she edited, designed and wrote. Kellogg's, Warner Brothers, Tipperary Crystal
and Wella
were amongst the advertisers who had signed up for the first issue, with €150,000 being spent on promotional expenses and a planned further €200,000 marked out to be spent on radio promotions over the first year of existence. Radio Telefís Éireann (RTÉ) had even planned to run a True Lives documentary about the launch on its television schedule during the first September of its existence.
and Melanie Morris. Donnelly and Lennon each owned 24.5% of the newspaper whilst the remainder was owned by the Ryan and Morris partnership. After its failure John Donnelly announced his resignation from his publishing company, Ashville Media and was reported as having left Ireland and travelled to Portugal
in a move to minimise his tax bill. His business partner Diarmuid Lennon was left as the sole managing director of the company, known for its production of magazines, yearbooks and diaries. Donnelly was said to have taken advantage of the Portuguese tax regime where no capital gains tax is payable on the sale of shares in a company owned for more than twelve months. However Irish residents moving to Portugal must not return to Ireland for five years to avail of this tax saving. A previous example of these savings by an Irish businessman was communications tycoon Denis O'Brien
, who is believed to have saved €63 million in capital gains tax when he moved to Portugal in 2000 after selling his mobile telephone, telecommunications and internet
company Esat Telecommunications Limited (now BT Ireland
) for €292 million.
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
which famously went bankrupt in May 2003 just two months after its launch the previous March. A total of approximately €500,000 was invested in the title. The newspaper was aimed at a mainly female under-45 readership, with a Joint National Readership Research report indicating that 53% of Irish women read a daily newspaper, but 66% read a Sunday newspaper. Ireland on Sunday (now the Irish Mail on Sunday) was named as having the most potential for loss of readership when Stars on Sunday was announced, whilst The Star
Irish Daily Star
The Irish Daily Star is a tabloid newspaper published in Ireland by the Independent Star Limited. Independent Star Limited is a joint venture between Richard Desmond's UK based Express Newspapers Limited, which owns the British Daily Star, and Irish news magnate Denis O'Brien's Independent News &...
newspaper accused Stars on Sunday of using a title similar to its own but on seeking legal advice was told that there was no reason to pursue legal action.
Stars on Sunday branded itself as Ireland's first all-colour newspaper. The first issue had a print run of 105,000, if the 5,000 figures to be distributed free at Dublin's DART
Dublin Area Rapid Transit
The Dublin Area Rapid Transit is part of the suburban railway network in Ireland, running mainly along the coastline of Dublin Bay on the Trans-Dublin route, from Greystones in County Wicklow, through Dublin to Howth and Malahide in County Dublin.Trains are powered via a 1500V DC overhead catenary...
stations were included. John Donnelly, the co-managing director of Ashville Media and one of the backers of the newspaper suggested it would initially have a circulation of 50,000, which he thought achievable in the first six months of availability. He expected the first issue to sell between 60,000 to 70,000. MCM media buyer Debbie Kiely was sceptical of such a proposal, saying the newspaper would be doing well if it had 25,000 to 30,000 sales in its first few issues. Jason Nebenzahl of Initiative Media ominously suggested that "time will tell".
Stars on Sunday was edited by 26-year-old Aoife Byrne, who had spent the previous four years at the magazine and design company New Century Publishing where she edited, designed and wrote. Kellogg's, Warner Brothers, Tipperary Crystal
Tipperary Crystal
Tipperary Crystal is an Irish design company. It was founded by master craftsmen Joe Foley and John Meagher in 1988. They established a team of craft workers and designers.The company was taken over by its current Managing Director, Declan Fearon in 2005....
and Wella
Wella
Wella is a German company, and one of the world’s leading cosmetics suppliers. Founded in 1880 by Franz Stroher, with its headquarters in Darmstadt, Germany, the company is represented in over 150 countries....
were amongst the advertisers who had signed up for the first issue, with €150,000 being spent on promotional expenses and a planned further €200,000 marked out to be spent on radio promotions over the first year of existence. Radio Telefís Éireann (RTÉ) had even planned to run a True Lives documentary about the launch on its television schedule during the first September of its existence.
Funding
Stars on Sunday was funded by the business partnership of John Donnelly and Diarmuid Lennon, who owned the publishing company Ashville Media as well as by fellow publishers John RyanJohn Ryan (publisher)
John Ryan is an Irish former publishing tycoon-turned comic actor/writer. He is best known for his publishing empire which included the magazine New York Dog and the website blogorrah.com, he did achieve success with magazines such as VIP with former business partner, Michael O'Doherty...
and Melanie Morris. Donnelly and Lennon each owned 24.5% of the newspaper whilst the remainder was owned by the Ryan and Morris partnership. After its failure John Donnelly announced his resignation from his publishing company, Ashville Media and was reported as having left Ireland and travelled to Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
in a move to minimise his tax bill. His business partner Diarmuid Lennon was left as the sole managing director of the company, known for its production of magazines, yearbooks and diaries. Donnelly was said to have taken advantage of the Portuguese tax regime where no capital gains tax is payable on the sale of shares in a company owned for more than twelve months. However Irish residents moving to Portugal must not return to Ireland for five years to avail of this tax saving. A previous example of these savings by an Irish businessman was communications tycoon Denis O'Brien
Denis O'Brien
Denis O'Brien is an Irish businessman with international connections. An Arts graduate of University College Dublin, O'Brien has received a MBA in corporate finance from Boston College in 1982, and was later given an honorary doctorate by University College Dublin.O'Brien has involvement with...
, who is believed to have saved €63 million in capital gains tax when he moved to Portugal in 2000 after selling his mobile telephone, telecommunications and internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
company Esat Telecommunications Limited (now BT Ireland
BT Ireland
BT Communications Limited is a telecommunications and internet company in Ireland. It is a subsidiary of BT Group plc.-Esat Telecom:The company was founded in 1990 by Denis O'Brien, and was originally known as Esat Telecom...
) for €292 million.