Most of the nation's biggest newspapers saw circulation tumble at an increased rate, a sign that the migration of readers online may be picking up speed.
The Audit Bureau of Circulations reported Monday that average weekday circulation at 534 daily newspapers fell 3.6% for the six months ended March 31, compared with the year-earlier period. The rate of decline is accelerating: ABC had reported an average weekday circulation drop of 2.1% in the year-earlier period and 2.6% in the six months to November.
Sunday circulation fell even more, losing 4.6% on average.
Newspaper circulation has been falling for more than 20 years amid increasing competition for advertising dollars and readers' attention. The latest results were grim but unsurprising, said John Morton, an independent newspaper analyst. "Big-city papers are suffering right now, and this is just reflective of that."
Newspaper publishers have also seen worsening drop-offs in print-ad revenue over the past few months, at least partly because of the economic slowdown.
Nearly all of the 10 biggest newspapers in the U.S. posted circulation declines. Circulation at the Los Angeles Times -- which has struggled with turnover among its newsroom management as real-estate magnate Sam Zell took effective control of its parent, Tribune Co., in December -- fell 5.1% to 773,884. The New York Times' average weekday circulation fell 3.9% to 1.08 million. It saw an even steeper drop in Sunday circulation, which was down 9.3% to 1.48 million.
"This was a decline that we planned and budgeted for," said New York Times spokeswoman Diane McNulty. The company has eliminated "bonus days," in which the Sunday paper was delivered to weekday subscribers, and has cut back on discounted and advertiser-paid distribution as it attempts to grow more-profitable circulation, she said. In that shift, she added, "We do expect to see some copy decline."
A Los Angeles Times spokeswoman said it too has cut bonus-day issues, which lowered circulation. She also noted a price increase for home-delivery subscribers and competing pressure from other media outlets.
Of the top 10, only two newspapers saw circulation growth. Gannett Co.'s USA Today, the largest paper in the U.S., posted a 0.3% increase in weekday circulation to 2.28 million. At The Wall Street Journal, which is owned by News Corp., the number of subscribers inched up 0.4% to 2.07 million, a figure that includes print subscriptions as well as about 352,000 online-only ones that qualify under the Audit Bureau's rules. The year-earlier figure included 340,618 online-only subscriptions. Other papers also offer electronic editions that qualify as part of their circulation, but the Journal has a far larger number of such subscriptions.
Some particularly big declines occurred among big newspapers below the top 10 ranking, including the Boston Globe (down 8.3%), which is owned by New York Times Co.; Cox Enterprises Inc.'s Atlanta Journal-Constitution (down 8.5%) and Advance Publications Inc.'s Star-Ledger of Newark, N.J., which lost 7.4%. A.H. Belo Corp.'s Dallas Morning News experienced the biggest percentage drop among the top 25 newspapers, losing 43,607 weekday subscribers, about 11% of its weekday circulation, compared with the year-ago report.
The Morning News said last year that its efforts to reduce bulk circulation -- free copies sent to hotels and airports -- as well as a smaller delivery zone, would cause it to lose circulation at a faster rate for a year.
The Daily News and the New York Post maintained their fierce battle for readers, although both lost subscribers. The Daily News, owned by real-estate developer Mortimer Zuckerman, ended the period with 649 more average weekday subscribers than its local rival the New York Post, which, like The Wall Street Journal, is owned by News Corp.
Both papers lost circulation, with the Daily News down 2.1% to 703,137 and the Post down 3.1% to 702,488.
The ABC announced in March changes that may allow papers to count more copies in their paid circulation, while separating some bulk circulation, including copies distributed at hotels, into a separate category. Those new rules won't go into effect for at least another year.
By: Andrew Lavallee
Wall Street Journal; April 29, 2008
