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| Economy |
| Newspaper circulation falling fast, down 10.6 pct |
| 2009-10-27 |
| The decline in U.S. newspaper circulation is accelerating as the industry struggles with defections to the Internet and tumbling ad revenue. Figures released Monday by the Audit Bureau of Circulations show that average daily circulation dropped 10.6 percent in the April-September period from the same six-month span in 2008. That was greater than the 7.1 percent decline in the October 2008-March 2009 period and the 4.6 percent drop in the April-September period of 2008. Sunday circulation fell 7.5 percent in the latest six-month span. As expected, The Wall Street Journal has surpassed USA Today as the top-selling newspaper in the United States. The Journal's average Monday-Friday circulation edged up 0.6 percent to 2.02 million -- making it the only daily newspaper in the top 25 to see an increase. USA Today saw its worst decline ever, dropping more than 17 percent to 1.90 million. The newspaper has blamed reductions in travel for much of the circulation shortfall, because many of its single-copy sales come in airports and hotels. The New York Times stayed in third place at 927,851, down 7.3 percent from the same period of 2008. Newspaper sales have been declining since the early 1990s, but the drop has accelerated in recent years. Part of this is because newspapers have stopped serving harder-to-reach areas and limited circulation to their core regions. In many cases, people simply aren't buying print copies as much as they used to, given the abundance of free news on the Internet, often from the newspapers themselves. This has prompted newspapers to consider charging fees for Web access, but it could prove difficult to persuade people to pay for something they are used to getting for free. Newsday, a Long Island daily, said last week that it plans to start charging people who don't subscribe to its print edition $5 a week for access to its Web site. Newsday's circulation dropped 5.4 percent in the latest reporting period, to 357,124. Of the top 25 dailies, the San Francisco Chronicle saw the worst circulation decline, falling 25.8 percent to 251,782. The Star-Ledger of Newark, N.J., and The Dallas Morning News both fell 22.2 percent. Of all the newspapers with a paid circulation of more than 50,000, the York Daily Record in Pennsylvania saw the biggest increase -- rising 16.5 percent to 55,370. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #14 RASPBERRY, STRAWBERRY, or BLUEBERRY? DO I have to say WTF!? |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2009-10-27 19:10 |
| #13 All the Tweens + assor YOUNG PEOPLE are TWITTERIN', IPODIN', YOUTUBIN', BLACKBERRIN', MYSPACIN' + FACEBOOKIN', etal. > meanwhile, all of us OLD GEEZERS = ELDERLY SENIOR CITIZENS ABOVE AGE 25 ARE STILL STUCK ON OLDER "QUAINT" CELL PHONES + "ANTIQUE" PUSH-BUTTONS??? |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2009-10-27 19:08 |
| #12 It doesn't help the Leftist media that they managed to persuade their increasingly gullible rump of readers that, in electing Obama, the world would be largely without significant concerns. Why bother with a paper which is trying to persuade you Everything's OK (even when it's more like Going To Hell In A Handbasket)? |
| Posted by: Bulldog 2009-10-27 14:18 |
| #11 It is not the medium that is in trouble it is the message that is in trouble. The further left Chicago's papers went the more their circulation declined. Solution: try reporting the news factually and keep opinion to the Editorial and Op-Ed pages. Which is what the WSJ does. |
| Posted by: Chaiter Pelosi4314 2009-10-27 13:34 |
| #10 What about computer interfaces getting more like newspaper? |
| Posted by: Bright Pebbles 2009-10-27 12:40 |
| #9 I think there are still a lot of people who want newspapers. These are the people who are uncomfortable with computers. I should know. I'm married to one. Dunno how long these types will be around in sufficient numbers to keep the dinosaur media viable but I'd guess twenty or so years anyway. |
| Posted by: Ebbang Uluque6305 2009-10-27 12:36 |
| #8 yes, ed, but its the widespread adoption that is key in diverting dollars from the papers. Not there yet. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2009-10-27 11:49 |
| #7 coupons.com |
| Posted by: ed 2009-10-27 11:05 |
| #6 Sunday editions usually carry coupons that pay for the cost of the bird cage paper they come with. Now if someone can Craiglist [implementation and wide spread adoption] that function, the dead tree media is in for a unrecoverable steep dive. Given the economy, there's an opportunity for someone to divert that advertising money from the papers. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2009-10-27 09:30 |
| #5 The Wall Street Journal's numbers for Monday-Friday dropped by under 1%, significantly less than any other. See here for details. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2009-10-27 08:05 |
| #4 Last paragraph: "A few newspapers, mostly smaller ones, added subscribers during the reporting period. Of all the newspapers with a paid circulation of more than 50,000, the York Daily Record in Pennsylvania saw the biggest increase -- rising 16.5 percent to 55,370. The newspaper's publisher and managing editor didn't return messages Monday." So no telling who gained, but some other than WSJ gained. I wonder if there is a pattern to gainers/losers. |
| Posted by: Whiskey Mike 2009-10-27 07:31 |
| #3 So, WSJ increased its circulation, and everybody else's decreased? Is that right? |
| Posted by: Whiskey Mike 2009-10-27 07:27 |
| #2 Must be 7 or 8 years since I bought a printed newspaper. |
| Posted by: phil_b 2009-10-27 07:18 |
| #1 Sub-critical mass approaching fast! |
| Posted by: gorb 2009-10-27 01:52 |