Circulation does not tell the story. Advertising revenue tells the story and craigslist.com is KILLING them all. 50ish% of all newspaper revenue is classified ads. craigslist.com is free.
The Craig guy has been called the most powerful man in the newspaper business, and he's not in the newspaper business.
He is a liberal too, and it destroying these liberal newspapers. Their budgets are collapsing and so are reporter salaries.
Recently, I've taken to calling businesses that advertise in our local fish-wrap and asking them if the reporting/editorials therein accurately reflect their positions. It's been an eye-opening experience on both sides.
I can't help but think that, if more folks started challenging advertisers in this way, it might hasten the demise of the print media.