Newspaper Circulation Numbers Released

I have friends in the paper business. I sit with one of them on the board of directors of our local AdFed. And I would not want to be in her shoes.

Another job I would not want to have is selling Yellow Page Advertising. But today, let's stick to the newsprint biz with this report from Mediapost:

Bad Read: Newspaper Circs Fall Again

by Erik Sass, Tuesday, Apr 29, 2008 7:45 AM ET

The long slide in newspaper circulations continued with the release Monday of figures from the Audit Bureau of Circulations showing an overall circulation decline of 3.6% in the six months ending March 2008, compared to the same period one year ago. This is the steepest drop yet (up from a 3% drop in September), and it's the ninth straight report where newspaper circs have declined. Since March 2004, total daily circulations have fallen almost 10%, from about 50.8 million to about 46.2 million. The news is now so bad, and delivered with such regularity, that the Newspaper Association of America--which used to crunch the ABC numbers for total circulation figures--no longer bothers to do so. The percent and overall figures are the result of independent analysis. In most cases, daily and Sunday circs both declined, with Sunday declines generally larger. That's especially bad news because advertisers consider Sunday editions key to reaching consumers. Among big national papers, The New York Times saw daily circulation fall 3.9% to about 1.08 million, as Sunday circulation tumbled 9.3% to about 1.48 million. At the Los Angeles Times, daily circulation fell 5.2% and Sunday 6%. The Washington Post's daily circ fell 3.6% and Sunday 4.4%. At the Chicago Tribune, daily and Sunday circ both fell 4.5%. Big regional papers also suffered. The Houston Chronicle's daily circ fell 1.8%, as Sunday fell 6.6%.The Dallas Morning News daily circ fell 10.6%, and Sunday declined 7.6%. The San Francisco Chronicle's daily circ fell 14.1%, as Sunday plummeted 16.6%. The Phoenix Republic's daily circ fell 5%, while Sunday dipped by 5.6%. The Denver Post/Rocky Mountain News saw its combined daily circ fall 11.4%, as Sunday dropped 15%. No part of the country was spared. The Miami Herald's combined daily circulation fell 9.4%, as Sunday slipped 7.6%. Likewise, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution's daily circ fell 8.6%, a Sunday slipped 5.1%. The Boston Globe's daily circulation fell 8.4%, and Sunday dropped 6.5%. The Detroit Free Press saw daily circulation fall 6.7%, Sunday 5.2%. The Philadelphia Inquirer's daily circ fell 5.1%, while Sunday dropped 6.3%. At the Newark Star Ledger, daily circ fell 7.4%, and Sunday dipped by 12.3%. And the Cleveland Plain Dealer's daily circ slipped 4.2%, as Sunday fell 3.3%. There were a few exceptions to the general gloom: USA Today and The Wall Street Journal both saw circulation creep up slightly, gaining less than 1% each.

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