(LATimes) – The average circulation at about 400 daily newspapers falls more than 10% in the last six months as compared to a year ago. Smaller newspapers fare better.
By Martin Zimmerman
October 26, 2009
Circulation at U.S. newspapers fell more than 10% during the last six months as readers fled to the Internet at a faster pace.
The Audit Bureau of Circulations reported today that the average weekday circulation of the nearly 400 daily papers that reported sales slid 10.6% between April and September compared to the same six-month period in 2008. That was bigger than the 7.1% decline recorded during the previous six months.
Of the nation’s five biggest daily papers, four reported circulation declines. The Wall Street Journal displaced USA Today as the nation’s largest daily, notching a slim 0.6% gain in subscribers to reach slightly more than 2 million. USA Today’s circulation fell 17% to 1.9 million as the Gannett Co. paper, which gets many of its sales at hotels and airports, was hit by the slump in travel.
The New York Times’ circulation fell 7.3%, to 927,851, making it the No. 3 paper. The Los Angeles Times was in fourth place with daily circulation of 657,467, down 11.1% from a year ago.
The Washington Post rounded out the top five with a loss of 6.4%, to 582,844.
Industrywide, Sunday circulation held up better than weekday sales, falling 7.5% compared to a year ago. The Times’ Sunday circulation fell 6.8%, to 983,702.
Newspapers have seen their circulation decline sharply in recent years as readers increasingly have turned to online sources for news. Many of these websites are operated by the same newspapers that are losing traditional subscribers, but publishers are struggling to bring in enough online ad dollars to replace the loss of print advertising. And readers have been reluctant to pay for access to online newspapers sites.
Newspapers also have been deliberately paring back circulation in far-flung areas, where the small number of subscribers doesn’t justify the cost of delivery.
Many smaller papers have fared better than big-city dailies, in part because the local news sought by their readers is often less available on the Internet. They also are less reliant on big national advertisers.
That trend was evident in the circulation results for some smaller Southern California papers. For instance, the Daily Breeze in Torrance saw its circulation fall by only 2.7%, to 61,925, while the Pasadena Star-News lost subscribers at less than half the overall industry rate, falling 5.3% to 24,362. The Long Beach Press-Telegram’s circulation fell 8.2%, to 71,411.
Other regional papers didn’t fare as well, however. Circulation fell 26%, to 95,938, at the Daily News in Woodland Hills and by 24.3%, to 113,182, at the Riverside Press-Enterprise, which has been hit hard by the housing slump.
Meanwhile, subscriptions fell 10.1% at the Orange County Register, to 212,293, and 10% at the San Diego Union-Tribune, to 242,705.
Source: Los Angeles Times
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