Newspaper circulation falling fast, down 10.6 percent
Published: October 26, 2009
NEW YORK — 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 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 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.
The figures from the circulation bureau compare 379 newspapers that had reported daily average sales for both the current and year-ago periods. The Sunday figure, meanwhile, compares 562 newspapers.
The closures of the Rocky Mountain News in Denver, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer and other printed newspapers aren’t reflected in the total decline. (And in many cases, subscriptions were transferred to each city’s other major newspaper). The total also excludes many smaller newspapers because of rule changes that make direct comparisons impossible.
Advertisement
Reader Reactions
Rupert Murdoch has been in the news as saying within a year or so, paid access to news will be the future….Damn, I hope not!
I’d sure like to see that liberal RTD several posters have mentioned. The RTD is as conservative as a paper can get.
I cancelled a very long running subscription for two reasons: lousy writing/reporting and the dreadful format changes.
One article I recall was supposed to be a story about a local trial. The “reporter” turned what should have been straight forward journalistic reporting into some kind of made for tv docu-drama script. I do not watch “reality” shows on tv and seeing the local reporters resorting to that level of story was disheartening.
Many small town papers are doing quite well becasue they are not owned by media giants whose bottom line is profit. Its very sad that real, objective journalism is a thing of the past.
I’m still a fan of both the online and printed versions; however, the T-D’s printed newspaper is becoming less enjoyable to read because it’s so irritating to hold. Each page is so thin and the newsprint quality is so low—it feels like tissure, ready to disintegrate with the first drop of moisture.
The main reason I subscribe to the newspaper is so I can have something to read on the head. I really don’t want to lug a laptop in there or drop a blackberry into the commode - then you would have to fish it out…..yuck.
If they all stop printing on paper which they are destined to do someday, I just hope printed maps or books are still around, gotta have something to read while in there.
lakotahope- online subscriptions will never work. In the era of the 24hr news cycle, you’ll know about it soon enough w/o paying for it.
I canceled my subscription because of BAD writing! I’d much rather had a physical paper I can snuggle up with, put in my tote bag, read on the bus. But the writing was getting worse and worse. Editing is gone. But mostly, it was the new staff writers like the “trailer park” cooking writer who knows very little about food. It was worth the money less and less. I could spend the same 50 cents and get a Washington Post with much better writing. I just have to get the local news on TV now.
Declining print newspapers. Kinda sad. But, everyone should be aware that there is another way of life in the wind! Lots of talk of PAID ACCESS TO NEWS STORIES on the internet. Paid subscriptions to access the news on Foxnews WallStJ CNN etc. Some sites have been pay to view for a long time, but will everyone go this way?
The decline of newspapers ave nothing to do with whether the paper is liberal or conservative that is an easy excuse to make because there are just too many in this country for newspapers to be failing if that was the case. Its all about economics, speed, and ease of access. Its cheaper to read a paper online then buy a paper, next with 24 hour news and online news that are constantly updating the news with up to the minute breaking news there is no way a newspaper can compete. The time of newspapers is coming to an end due to the advance of technology.
Stupidity.
For years newspapers have waged war on unions, cutting their own throats.
See, people who lack benefits must buy benefots, people who make lower wages use far more of thier disposable income buying necessities, and a newspaper ain’t a necessity.
The world where the owners of newspapers hired editors who pushed ideas that lower wages and long hours at two jobs was a good thing, has come true.
And guess what?
People are too tired, lack the time, and can’t afford to buy, Newspapers.
Gentlemen, ladies, great job of putting your selves out of business,
Always remember the truism: people who have no money to spend, buy no products.
No buyers, and eventually, no business.
The printed press is very liberal - but that is nothing new. It has been for quite some time (when was the last time that the NY Crimes or Washington Pest endorsed a republican for President?). The decline of the print media is really simple. And has been touched on by one commentor. Changing Paradigm.
Best Products was king of its industry - gone because of a changing paradigm. Sears was king, now a lowly serf - because of a changing paradigm. Circuit city - king and gone (I would not invest in Best Buy Y’all).
Man’s life on this planet is relatively short and because of our short stay, we sometimes extend our short history to be the way things always are. yet any student of history will tell you that nothing in life is constant except change.
Before newspapers, there were town criers, after newspapers, there is the Internet. The death of the print media is probably hastened by their lack of objectivity, but cannot be stopped even if they all of a sudden became objective. Their time has passed.
Post a Comment(Requires free registration)
- Please avoid offensive, vulgar, or hateful language.
- Respect others.
- Use the "Flag Comment" link when necessary.
- See the Terms and Conditions for details.
Advertisement