Print publications have no clear idea of how many people read each copy of their publication and, conversely, how many individual pages of any given copy go unread.
It's hard to printed publications to accurately calculate readership.
The Khedive Ismael had extravagant plans for numerous great works that were to be financed by Western European powers, but when he became stuck in a financial quagmire, they insisted on bringing in their own advisors to control key institutions.