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Title: Newspaper-industry slide worsens , By: Fine, Jon, Advertising Age, 00018899, 5/10/2004, Vol. 75, Issue 19
Database: Business Source Elite

Section: Data Center

Audit Bureau of Circulations

Newspaper-industry slide worsens

Contents
BAD NEWS ON SUNDAY
TOP 50 NEWSPAPERS BY CIRCULATION

But 'USA Today,' 'WSJ' and 'New York Post' buck trend with large six-month gains

THERE'S GOOD NEWS at the top of the chart for newspapers, as the two largest newspapers saw circulation spike significantly and four of the top five notched gains.

For the industry at large, though, it was another version of the same movie that's long been playing out amid the landscape of local newspapers. Circulation continues to erode. Of the top 50 newspapers as ranked by daily circulation, 26 posted declines. An analysis of the most recent circulation data-which is tabulated by Audit Bureau of Circulations-conducted by the Newspaper Association of America found only 37% of the 836 papers audited posted circulation gains. The average newspaper, according to the NAA, posted a 0.1% daily circulation loss.

BAD NEWS ON SUNDAY

For Sunday newspapers-the bulked-up formats of which account for a disproportionate share of revenues at major dailies-the NAA found that the news was worse. Average Sunday circulation was off 0.9%.

These figures represent a worse performance than for the previous six-month period, which ended Sept. 30. In those six months, the NAA found the average daily posted a 0.2% circulation increase and a 0.4% decline on Sunday.

The biggest gainer of the top 50, Dow Jones & Co.'s Wall Street Journal, saw a massive 15.4% increase, owing overwhelmingly to the fact it's now allowed to count online subscribers in its tallies. The other big gainer, News Corp.'s The New York Post, rose 9.3%, thank to aggressive pricing strategies, strong sports and business pages, and the sort of jugular-seeking subtlety one expects from properties owned by Rupert Murdoch.

But its tabloid rival, the Daily News, notched a 1.4% increase in its circulation. In doing so it avoided allowing the surging Post to erase its lead in raw numbers despite a string of serious gains. The New York Times showed a slight gain of 0.3% for daily, and 0.2% for Sunday.

The ABC's data also testifies to the industry's reliance on a circulation category called "other paid," which are copies bought in bulk by businesses such as hotels and airlines for at least 25% of basic subscription price.

The biggest major player in "other paid" remains Gannett's USA Today, which derives 47.5% of its weekday circulation from this source. But a host of other top 50 newspapers lean heavily on "other paid" circulation. Among them: Knight Ridder's Miami Herald (20.3%); The Wall Street Journal (16%); Tribune Co.'s South Florida Sun-Sentinel (17.9%) and Los Angeles Times (12.0%); Cox Newspapers' Atlanta Journal-Constitution (12%); and MediaNews Group's flagship Denver Post (13.3%).

TOP 50 NEWSPAPERS BY CIRCULATION

Ranked by weekday averages for six-months ended March 31, 2004

Legend for chart:
A = Rank
B = Newspaper
C = Average daily circulation 2004
D = Average daily circulation 2003
E = Average daily circulation % chg
F = Average Sunday circulation 2004
G = Average Sunday circulation 2003
H = Average Sunday circulation % chg

 A       B
         C           D         E        F           G         H

 1  USA Today(*)
    2,192,098   2,143,582     2.3   2,635,412   2,584,331    2.0

 2  Wall Street Journal
    2,101,017   1,820,600    15.4          NA          NA     NA

 3  The New York Times
    1,133,763   1,130,740     0.3   1,677,003   1,672,965    0.2

 4  Los Angeles Times(a)
      983,727     979,549     0.4   1,392,672   1,396,044   -0.2

 5  Washington Post
      772,553     796,367    -3.0   1,025,579   1,049,322   -2.3

 6  New York Daily News
      747,053     737,030     1.4     802,103     810,533   -1.0

 7  New York Post
      678,012     620,080     9.3     445,094     420,179    5.9

 8  Chicago Tribune(b)
      614,548     621,055    -1.0   1,002,398   1,016,471   -1.4

 9  Newsday
      580,346     579,351     0.2     662,317     665,324   -0.5

10  Houston Chronicle(a)
      549,300     548,508     0.1     740,002     739,389    0.1

11  Dallas Morning News(b)
      529,879     532,051    -0.4     755,912     786,593   -3.9

12  San Francisco Chronicle
      501,135     514,265    -2.6     553,983     553,703    0.1

13  Chicago Sun-Times
      486,936     488,487    -0.3     378,371     382,234   -1.0

14  Arizona Republic(a)
      466,926     486,131    -4.0     587,159     596,993   -1.6

15  Boston Globe
      452,109     448,775     0.7     686,575     680,083    1.0

16  Newark Star-Ledger
      407,945     407,730     0.1     610,542     609,514    0.2

17  Atlanta Journal-Constitution(b)
      401,077     419,568    -4.4     629,505     658,581   -4.4

18  Philadelphia Inquirer
      387,692     386,890     0.2     769,257     768,236    0.1

19  Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune(a)
      377,058     375,506     0.4     671,275     669,362    0.3

20  Cleveland Plain Dealer(a)
      367,528     373,137    -1.5     480,540     482,380   -0.4

21  San Diego Union-Tribune (a, b)
      355,771     363,555    -2.1     444,527     444,899   -0.1

22  Detroit Free Press(c)
      354,581     363,423    -2.4     705,148     718,967   -1.9

23  St. Petersburg Times(a)
      348,502     354,869    -1.8     442,605     442,348    0.1

24  Portland Oregonian
      342,040     344,552    -0.7     412,113     422,131   -2.4

25  Miami Herald(a)
      325,032     328,126    -0.9     447,326     444,119    0.7

26  Orange County Register(a)
      310,001     307,205     0.9     374,364     370,739    1.0

27  Sacramento Bee(a)
      303,841     302,804     0.3     356,154     349,989    1.8

28  Denver Post(d)
      286,197     301,107    -5.0     783,274     790,508   -0.9

29  Rocky Mountain News(d)
      286,004     301,004    -5.0     783,274     790,508   -0.9

30  St. Louis Post-Dispatch(a)
      281,198     286,491    -1.8     454,998     467,374   -2.6

31  San Jose Mercury News(a)
      279,539     276,786     1.0     308,425     306,580    0.6

32  Baltimore Sun(b)
      277,947     281,664    -1.3     470,453     470,014    0.1

33  Kansas City Star(a)
      275,747     273,722     0.7     388,425     385,109    0.9

34  Orlando Sentinel(a)
      269,269     266,774     0.9     385,097     391,145   -1.5

35  South Florida Sun-Sentinel (a, b)
      268,297     265,752     1.0     376,551     375,444    0.3

36  New Orleans Times-Picayune(a)
      262,008     260,721     0.5     286,802     287,001   -0.1

37  Columbus Dispatch(a)
      259,127     261,568    -0.9     371,551     373,696   -0.6

38  Indianapolis Star(a)
      253,778     255,286    -0.6     367,995     367,142    0.2

39  Boston Herald
      248,988     247,886     0.4     152,624     156,234   -2.3

40  Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
      245,065     248,176    -1.3     406,754     409,218   -0.6

41  Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
      244,893     257,600    -4.9     430,755     434,667   -0.9

42  San Antonio Express-News(b)
      244,547     247,214    -1.1     359,828     365,309   -1.5

43  Tampa Tribune(a)
      238,877     238,176     0.3     315,811     313,693    0.7

44  Seattle Times(e)
      237,303     239,468    -0.9     465,830     474,748   -1.9

45  Fort Worth Star-Telegram(b)
      233,908     236,369    -1.0     332,861     336,883   -1.2

46  Charlotte Observer(a)
      231,369     242,082    -4.4     282,215     296,771   -4.9

47  Detroit News(c)
      225,174     233,151    -3.4     705,148     718,967   -1.9

48  Daily Oklahoman(a)
      223,403     222,354     0.5     297,029     299,724   -0.9

49  Louisville Courier-Journal(a)
      216,934     223,062    -2.7     279,611     285,286   -2.0

50  Investor's Business Daily(b)
      215,735     242,661   -11.1          NA          NA     NA

Notes: Percent change computed against six month averages for the period ending March 31, 2003. * USA Today's Friday circulation is listed in the Sunday column. Its weekday circulation average is Monday through Thursday only. a) Weekday averages include Saturday. b) Figures were adjusted by Ad Ageto estimate average weekday circulation for both years. c) Detroit Free Press and Detroit News have combined Sunday edition; d) Rocky Mountain News and Denver Post have combined Sunday edition. e) Combined Sunday edition with Seattle Post-Intelligencer.

~~~~~~~~

By Jon Fine

Copyright of Advertising Age is the property of Crain Communications Inc. (MI) and its content may not be copied or e-mailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder`s express written permission. However, users may print, download, or e-mail articles for individual use.
Source: Advertising Age, 5/10/2004, Vol. 75 Issue 19, p59, 1p
Item: 13088721

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See full report posted above.

Thanks a lot!

A few observations: While USA Today is a good paper to summarize the day's news, I have observed that all major hotels purchase them by the stack and distribute them to every room in the early AM. That may increase the numbers and readership, but it seems a little contived. The same is true with Wall Street Journal. And, one would need to be disingenuous to deny that the WSJ is decidedly anti-consumer.

The St. Pete Times is probably the best newspaper in Florida, with The Gainesville Sun a close second. The Tampa Tribune & Fla. Times-Union (Jax) are undoubtedly on the Right end of the political spectrum.

Boring as it may be, that's the way it is in the Sunshine State.

Holy !@@@. The Detroit News dropped that much? For years they were bigger than the Free Press. Gannett f'ed them up badly.