Big dailies take
steeper circulation hits
Weekday numbers off 7 percent, the worst ever
By Toni Fitzgerald
Apr 27, 2009
Newspaper circulation, which has been declining for years, took its steepest dive yet in the most recent reporting period, according to numbers released this morning by the Audit Bureau of Circulations.
Weekday circulation for the six-month period ending March 31 fell 7.09 percent for the 395 daily papers surveyed, from 37,066,075 last year to 34,439,713.
That’s compared to a decline of 3.6 percent at the same time last year and 4.64 percent in the previous reporting period, ending last September.
The 557 Sunday papers surveyed also tumbled, off 5.37 percent compared to this time last year, from 44,471,411 to 42,082,707. That’s compared to a 4.85 percent drop in September and a 4.6 decrease last March.
That marks the worst year-to-year falloff yet for newspapers, whose circulation woes have been well documented as large metro dailies cut back on unprofitable distribution in outlying areas and the internet eats into their pool of subscribers.
It's unclear for this most recent period just how much of those declines reflect papers cutting marginal circulation.
Papers have also seen ad revenue take a dive with the recession, off 10.2 percent during 2008 according to Nielsen Monitor-Plus.
Only one of the country’s top 25 papers saw weekday circulation gains during the six months ended March 31, according to the ABC. The Wall Street Journal, the country’s No. 2 paper with circulation of 2,082,189, was up 0.61 percent over last year.
The country’s biggest newspaper, USA Today, which saw circulation rise in September, was off 7.46 percent, to 2,113,725.
The biggest drop in the top 25 came at the New York Post, off nearly 21 percent, to 558,140, and falling well behind its rival, the New York Daily News, which lost 14.3 percent to 602,857. Barely 1,000 had separated the two papers last March.
With regards to the two major daily papers that closed this year, the Rocky Mountain News and Seattle Post-Intelligencer, the ABC notes: "daily circulation average for the Denver Post reflects the subscriber file transfer of the Rocky Mountain News as of Feb. 28, 2009. For earlier Post and RMN figures, refer to the full FAS-FAX file, which is available on the ABC web site.
"The Seattle Times absorbed the Seattle Post-Intelligencer's subscriber base on March 18, 2009. The Seattle Times opted not to break out its new combined circulation average for those final two weeks. The figures are factored into Seattle's overall six-month daily average."
|
Top 25 Daily Newspapers – Mon.-Fri
.
Six Months Ended March 31, 2009 |
|
Newspaper |
2009 Circ (Daily) |
2008 Circ (Daily) |
% change |
|
USA TODAY
|
2,113,725
|
2,284,219
|
-7.46%
|
|
WALL STREET JOURNAL
|
2,082,189
|
2,069,463
|
0.61%
|
|
NEW YORK TIMES
|
1,039,031
|
1,077,256
|
-3.55%
|
|
L.A. TIMES
|
723,181
|
773,884
|
-6.55%
|
|
WASHINGTON POST
|
665,383
|
673,180
|
-1.16%
|
|
NEW YOK DAILY NEWS
|
602,857
|
703,138
|
-14.26%
|
|
NEW YORK POST
|
558,140
|
702,486
|
-20.55%
|
|
CHICAGO TRIBUNE
|
501,202
|
541,663
|
-7.47%
|
|
HOUSTON CHRONICLE
|
425,138
|
494,131
|
-13.96%
|
|
ARIZONA REPUBLIC
|
389,701
|
413,332
|
-5.72%
|
|
DENVER POST
|
371,728
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
|
NEWSDAY
|
368,194
|
379,613
|
-3.01%
|
|
DALLAS MORNING NEWS
|
331,907
|
368,313
|
-9.88%
|
|
MINNEAPOLIS STAR-TRIBUNE
|
320,076
|
322,362
|
-0.71%
|
|
CHICAGO SUN-TIMES
|
312,141
|
312,272
|
-0.04%
|
|
SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE
|
312,118
|
370,345
|
-15.72%
|
|
BOSTON GLOBE
|
302,638
|
350,615
|
-13.68%
|
|
CLEVELAND PLAIN DEALER
|
291,630
|
330,280
|
-11.70%
|
|
DETROIT FREE PRESS
|
290,730
|
308,946
|
-5.90%
|
|
PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER
|
288,298
|
334,149
|
-13.72%
|
|
NEWARK STAR-LEDGER
|
287,082
|
345,130
|
-16.82%
|
|
ST. PETERSBURG TIMES
|
283,093
|
316,007
|
-10.42%
|
|
OREGONION
|
268,512
|
304,308
|
-11.76%
|
|
ATLANTA JOURNAL CONSTITUTION
|
261,828
|
326,906
|
-19.91%
|
|
SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE
|
261,253
|
288,785
|
-9.53%
|
|
Source: Audit Bureau of Circulations |
|
Top 25 Daily Newspapers – Sunday
Six Months Ended March 31, 2009 |
|
Newspaper |
2008 Circ (Daily) |
2007 Circ (Daily) |
% change |
|
NEW YORK TIMES
|
1,451,233
|
1,476,393
|
-1.70%
|
|
L.A. TIMES
|
1,019,388
|
1,101,981
|
-7.49%
|
|
WASHINGTON POST
|
868,965
|
890,163
|
-2.38%
|
|
CHICAGO TRIBUNE
|
858,256
|
898,702
|
-4.50%
|
|
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
|
644,766
|
704,158
|
-8.43%
|
|
DETROIT FREE PRESS
|
585,022
|
606,371
|
-3.52%
|
|
HOUSTON CHRONICLE
|
583,364
|
632,797
|
-7.81%
|
|
PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER
|
550,400
|
625,672
|
-12.03%
|
|
DENVER POST
|
526,235
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
|
ARIZONA REPUBLIC
|
516,562
|
515,523
|
0.20%
|
|
MINNEAPOLIS STAR TRIBUNE
|
497,678
|
534,751
|
-6.93%
|
|
DALLAS MORNING NEWS
|
474,923
|
520,215
|
-8.71%
|
|
BOSTON GLOBE
|
466,665
|
525,959
|
-11.27%
|
|
ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION
|
462,011
|
497,150
|
-7.07%
|
|
NEWSDAY
|
426,510
|
441,727
|
-3.44%
|
|
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
|
415,815
|
414,565
|
0.30%
|
|
ST. PETERSBURG TIMES
|
413,929
|
432,779
|
-4.36%
|
|
NEWARK STAR-LEDGER
|
404,903
|
500,382
|
-19.08%
|
|
CLEVELAND PLAIN DEALER
|
393,352
|
428,090
|
-8.11%
|
|
SEATTLE TIMES
|
376,515
|
409,232
|
-7.99%
|
|
MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL
|
361,355
|
384,537
|
-6.03%
|
|
NEW YORK POST
|
357,168
|
401,315
|
-11.00%
|
|
SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE
|
354,752
|
424,603
|
-16.45%
|
|
BALTIMORE SUN
|
351,243
|
372,970
|
-5.83%
|
|
KANSAS CITY STAR
|
333,006
|
345,332
|
-3.57%
|
|
Source: Audit Bureau of Circulations |
|
|
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