More Bad News for Newspapers

From the Wall Street Journal:

The latest numbers show that circulation at the largest newspapers in the U.S. accelerated a decline, owing to readers' continuing defection to the Web and a concerted effort by many publishers to scale back unprofitable circulation.

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The New York Times saw a circulation decline of 3.6%.

Weekday circulation at 507 newspapers fell 4.6% for the six months through September, compared with a 2.6% decline in the same period a year earlier, according to figures released on Monday by the Audit Bureau of Circulations. Sunday circulation fell 4.9% for the latest period, compared with a 3.5% decline in Sunday circulation reported a year earlier.

Newspaper and advertising executives say that part of the decline is by design: Publishers have answered advertisers' calls to cut back on circulating papers to hotels and through third parties and to reduce delivery to readers outside of a concentrated area.

"They've done a terrific job meeting advertisers' needs," said Craig Sinclair, vice president of advertising for Walgreen Co.

But the latest numbers paint a dark picture for an industry where plummeting ad revenue and tightening credit are forcing publishers to take severe cost-cutting measures.

All but two of the 25 largest U.S. newspapers posted declines for the period, led by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, where weekday circulation fell 13.6%. The other major declines came at the Houston Chronicle, where weekday circulation fell 11.7%, and the Philadelphia Inquirer, which dropped 11.1%.

USA Today and The Wall Street Journal, the two largest U.S. newspapers by paid weekday circulation, were the only publications to post an increase for the period. Both papers increased circulation by 0.1%. Gannett Co. publishes USA Today; Dow Jones & Co., owned by News Corp., publishes The Wall Street Journal. The Journal reported last week that individually paid circulation was up 2.4%. Among the other top-five papers, weekday circulation declined 3.6% at the New York Times and 7.2% at the New York Daily News.

The fourth-ranked Los Angeles Times, which on Monday said it was cutting 10% of its newsroom staff, had a weekday decline of 5.2% for the period.

Sunday circulation, often seen as the best indicator of a newspaper's health, fell faster than it did during the week. The Houston Chronicle's Sunday circulation declined 15.7%, followed by the Star-Ledger of Newark, N.J., and the Philadelphia Inquirer, where Sunday circulation declined 14.7% and 13.8%, respectively.

	Weekday Total Paid Circulation
Newspaper Name	As of 9/30/08	As of 9/30/07	% Change from prior year
USA Today	2,293,310	2,293,137	0.01%
Wall Street Journal	2,011,999	2,011,882	0.01%
New York Times	1,000,665	1,037,828	-3.58%
Los Angeles Times	739,147	779,678	-5.20%
New York Daily News	632,595	681,415	-7.16%
New York Post	625,421	667,118	-6.25%
Washington Post	622,714	635,012	-1.94%
Chicago Tribune	516,032	559,402	-7.75%
Houston Chronicle	448,271	507,452	-11.66%
Newsday	377,517	387,498	-2.58%

Source: Audit Bureau of Circulations

Write to Russell Adams at russell.adams@wsj.com

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