Newspapers Can't Shake Circulation Doldrums

Editor & Publisher ^ | May 3, 04 | Mark Fitzgerald and Jennifer Saba

[churchillbuff]

Even as advertisers return with gusto to newspapers, circulation continues to be a lagging economic indicator.

Fully half of the nation's largest 38 newspapers reported weekday circulation declines, according to an analysis by the Newspaper Association of America (NAA) of the latest FAS-FAX numbers released this afternoon by the Audit Bureau of Circulations for the six-month period ending March 2004.

[churchillbuff]

the internet might play a role in the decline of hardcopy newspapers.

The internet doesn't leave my fingers smudged.

[ampat]

Yep they are going the way of air america, just taking longer.

[Betis70]

My brother used to be a freelancer. We shared a house together in Albuquerque, so I know how hit-and-miss that biz can be.

He got hired as a staffer. His paper has a subscription only online presence (mostly). Not sure if he will hold onto his job, but he is looking for other avenues of money anyway (he hates the politics of the newspaper biz--the internal politics as well as the super-lefties).

I get all my news online. I can research the things that interest me, or use a meta-news site like FR or WND.

[altura]

At one time it was considered conservative--the more conservative of the two big papes we had back in the day.

The Dallas Times Herald was considered the more liberal but it folded in the mid-eighties. That is one problem with the newspaper biz -- no competition to keep papes on their toes.

Now the News is very liberal, perhaps more fair than the New York Times (but who isn't), ... I was surprised that they covered the Vets against Kerry news conference, but they did.

[Faraday]

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (known affectionately as The Urinal) has lost 4.9% of its daily circulation in the last year (current circulation ~ 245,000). The paper ascribes this precipitous drop to the ending of special rates and conscious shrinkage in rural area distribution. This is whistling past the graveyard. The internet provides people with the information that only a daily paper use to convey. And growing numbers of people can no longer stomach the socialist slant given the other options available.

[Arrowhead1952]

There is no bias in the media. Fair and balanced reporting.
There is no bias in the media. Fair and balanced reporting.
There is no bias in the media. Fair and balanced reporting.
There is no bias in the media. Fair and balanced reporting.
There is no bias in the media. Fair and balanced reporting.
There is no bias in the media. Fair and balanced reporting.
There is no bias in the media. Fair and balanced reporting.
There is no bias in the media. Fair and balanced reporting.
There is no bias in the media. Fair and balanced reporting.
There is no bias in the media. Fair and balanced reporting.
There is no bias in the media. Fair and balanced reporting.
There is no bias in the media. Fair and balanced reporting.
There is no bias in the media. Fair and balanced reporting.

</ sarcasm>

[EQAndyBuzz]

The way for the print media to increase sales is very simple. Tell the truth. There is no longer any journalistic integrity.

The media sold their souls hoping that the crocodile eats them last. Come January, they better pray that the administration doesn't decide to look at how to regulate the media.

[PogySailor]

I finally gave up the Tampa Tribune this year. It had devolved into not much more than a redistribution outlet for AP, Reuters and NYT stories. The worthwhile local content had gotten very sparse.

[Belisaurius]

the Washington Post, like the proverbial blind squirrel, does occasionally get a right. Give them a little credit. the NYTimes makes the Washington Post look like the RNC house organ.

[BluH2o]

Our local paper, a large Midwest newspaper, aggressively tries to keep the circulation number up. For some period of time we took only the weekend paper, meaning Friday, Saturday and Sunday home delivery. Then a promotion offered full week delivery for the same price as weekend. We signed on for the trial period (one month as I recall) when the period was up they started billing at the weekly rate. I called circulation and requested the weekend delivery again, stating that delivery Monday thru Thursday wasn't really necessary (often the paper goes unread during the week). Circulation responded by saying they would continue to charge the weekend rate if I continued with weekly delivery, which I agreed to. That's where it stands now ... well over a year later.

[BushisTheMan]

After an article in today's Washington Post, no wonder their circulation is down. Losers every one.

Can we sue if they are incorrect? I want someone to start suing them when they lie and it can be proven.

At least one major win against them will make them stop and think and then make a "real" effort to print the truth. They might even have to prove they verified and how with each story.

Wouldn't that be amazing?

[an amused spectator]

Media Schadenfreude ping - May's Schade From Editor & Publisher

On, Off, or grab it for a Media Shenanigans/Schadenfreude/PNMCH ping:
http://www.freerepublic.com/~anamusedspectator/

[gundog]

WAAAAAHH! Why not eliminate the "news" and just give the people what they want...a free fish-wrapper with money-saving ads included.

[vetvetdoug]

The Commercial Appeal better known as the Comic Appeal , is a liberal rag that we quit taking several years ago because of its leftist leanings and rants. The Clarion Ledger better known as the Clearly Lying is also far leftist and we don't even read it now. The local papers are leftist also so in order to get some information other than left bias one has to go to the Internet and Fox News. We just got Fox News this last year. People in this area are Dumbocrats because they don't know and don't care about the truth.

[Thebaddog]

I visited Columbus Ohio to visit my in-laws last month and sprayed the coffee reading what passes for a paper in that town. It's straight off the Reuters newswire hook line and sinker. And Bob Novak passed for the loyal opposition.

And I don't even bother with the Chicago Tribune. Molly Ivins is a resident of their op-ed section as if she is knowledgeable of Chicago affairs.

[Piranha]

Give them a little credit. the NYTimes makes the Washington Post look like the RNC house organ.

Yes. I have thought recently that the time is right for the Washington Post to develop a national edition to compete with the NY Times national edition, since so many of us have become disaffected NY Times readers but still have a lingering sentimental bias toward respectable national news media.

[Grampa Dave]

The good news continues!

Our local rag has cut the size of the newspaper to where it is about 60% as wide as a year ago.

Yesterday, there were two sections. The main ads seem to be stuffer ads from grocery stores, fast food chains and other mass merchandisers.

As usual the front section was devoted to PC bs instead of news. As soon as my wife tires of it, it will be dropped.

We cancelled the SF Gayronicle in 1992 during the election.

[BlessedByLiberty]

Thanks!

We canceled the SF Chron two years ago, when they questioned why we said we wanted objective news reportage and not editorialized reportage in every single story.

Major league sports city editors must be happy they are located in such areas, because that is what gives them any circulation numbers. If they were to offer 'sports' only newspaper sections, the rest of their circulation would fall off dramatically.

In Marin and Sonoma the major papers carry NY Times bylines on all national stories, so why bother? Only for local sports!

[GOPJ]

Publishers need to grow backbones.

Liberal editors are running newspapers as personal liberal ego trips, not as a business. They compete for prizes not customers. It's time to switch incentives before these in-house rags are down to 8 readers and 12 prizes.

If half of a newspapers readers are conservatives, they need to be given a seat at the table. If they can't have a seat at the table, quit expecting them to pay for the meal.