Posted on 05/08/2006 8:49:15 AM PDT by churchillbuff
The Audit Bureau of Circulations FAS-FAX report released Monday morning reveals that circulation sank again this spring, with circ at major metros declining dramatically. Gains were slight.
Since March 2005, circulation has been declining at a more rapid pace. This spring, the numbers were expected to be better because of easier comparisons. Yet for the six-month period ending March 2006 compared to the same period a year ago, circulation at newspapers in major cities across the country continued to drop. Most notable so far: the San Francisco Chronicle, which experienced a dramatic 15% decline in daily copies, to 398,246.
Daily circulation at the Los Angeles Times dropped about 5.4% to 851,832. Sunday proved better for the paper, down 1.8%. The San Jose Mercury News, which McClatchy intends to buy, also showed decreases in daily circ, down 7.6% to 242,865.
The Washington Post reported that daily circulation slipped 3.6% to 724,242.
On the national front, USA Today reported slight gains -- despite a price increase last fall -- up .09% to 2,272,815. Daily circulation at The New York Times was up 0.5% to 1,142,464. The Wall Street Journal was down 1% to 2,049,768 for Monday through Friday.
As expected, daily circulation at The Boston Globe dropped 8.5% to 397,288. The paper experienced declines after releasing subscriber information in February.
The Sun in Baltimore also saw a significant decline. Daily circ sank 9.3% to 236,317 copies, while Sunday decreased 6.6% to 401,918.
The Philadelphia papers, which McClatchy put on the block after buying Knight Ridder, also showed declines. The Daily News was down 9.3% to 116,590 daily copies. Circuation at the Philadelphia Inquirer fell about 5% to 350,457. Sunday showed the same declines, down 5% to 705,965.
The Detroit Free Press reported an increase of 0.4% to 345,861, while the daily circ at the Detroit News dropped 1.5% to 214,934. Sunday was down 1.3% to 669,315.
Daily circulation at the Denver Post and the Rocky Mountain News declined -- both were down around 4.5%. Sunday declined about 4.1% to 704,806 copies.
The Seattle Post-Intelligencer dropped 9% to 131,769 daily copies while the Seattle Times declined 5.3% to 220,734 daily copies. Sunday dropped 4.6% to 435,581.
Daily circulation at the Kansas City Star fell 5% to 261,776, while Sunday dropped 4% to 367,712. The Indianapolis Star slipped a bit, with daily circ down1.3% to 255,277. Sunday decreased 2.8% to 347,217.
The St. Louis Post Dispatch was down 1.7% to 277,842 daily copies. Sunday dropped 5% to 423,291. The Plain Dealer in Cleveland declined slighly, down 1.5% to 343,163 daily copies. Sunday dropped 2.7% to 450,875.
The Star Ledger in Newark, N.J. was one of the few major dailies to show gains. Daily was up 0.9% to 398,329 and Sunday was up 1.4% to 599,628.
In Florida, the Orlando Sentinel also dropped 8.2% to 229,368 daily copies. The Miami Herald was down 5.8% to 294,172.
Daily circulation at the Atlanta Journal Constitution decreased 6.7% to 365,011 and Sunday circ fell about 8% to 561,405. The Star Tribune in Minneapolis dropped 2.8% to 362,964 daily copies while Sunday dropped quite more, down 7.4% to 606,698.
The Chicago Tribune reported gains in both daily and Sunday up 0.9% and 0.3% respectively.
The gap is narrowing between rivals the New York Post, which reported daily circulation down 0.7% to 673,379. At the New York Daily News, daily circ dropped 3.6% to 708,477 copies.
Newsday reported circ numbers on this FAS-FAX, a first since it was mired in circulation problems that started in the summer of 2004. Daily circ was down at paper, 2.7% to 427,771. Sunday dropped 3.4% to 488,825.
Both the Chicago Sun-Times and The Dallas Morning News are not included on this report. The circ numbers are withheld pending the completion of a madatory six-month audit.
The Times-Picayune in New Orleans voluntarily suspended its service. Other Louisiana papers affected by hurricanes --The Advocate in Baton Rouge, the Courier in Houma, and the American Press in Lake Charles -- did not file by press time.
"I stayed at a Holiday Inn Express last week, and the newspaper was dropped at the door every morning. There was a note that said they'd drop 8 cents a night if you didn't want the paper, which tells me what they're paying per copy. I'd bet well over 50% of USA Today's circulation is to travellers who get it gratis. They're also frequently in restaurants, free for reading to patrons."
During the 2000 election someone on Free Republic posted the info that those USA Today's were not free. After that I told the desk clerks on check in, to put in the computer that I didn't want the USA TODAY and credit my account for the amount they paid. In 2000 it saved me about a nickel to a dime. I figured, the hotel/motel got the paper for free and then USA Yesterday paid the hotel/motel nickel to a dime to have the bell man or maids to put the newspaper down by the door.
I'd drop the Houston Comical in a minute if we didn't want to read the Death Notices.
Maybe they should publish every other day to cut costs.
Or just once a week.
The Comical has deaths and obits online: http://www.legacy.com/houstonchronicle/DeathNotices.asp
Hah---interesting. The wave of the future---targeted distribution, underwritten by advertisers.
Ah Ha! LOL!
"Hah---interesting. The wave of the future---targeted distribution, underwritten by advertisers."
This is apparently going on in certain areas. Last month I posted about younger relatives living in a cul de sac in a fast growing and new upscale area of Eastern Contra Costra county, getting direct mail with ads from local businesses and in particuliar the ones they shopped at.
The only people in this cul de sac who weren't getting these direct mail ads were the two subscribers to the Gay Rhonicle and or the Contra Costra Time. The two subscribers cancelled their subscriptions and asked local store managers to put them on their direct mailing lists. Now they are getting the same ads mailed to them as the others were getting.
This should scare the hell out anyone in the newspaper business. These advertisers are bypassing the fishwarps's biased editorials, the Doonesbury comics, the pre written rat letters to the editors and getting their ads to the homes of buyers.
I think some of the libs in Boston are buying the Times instead of the Globe. When my very liberal Bostonian brother visits us in New York, he often mentions articles that were in the Times. We no longer read the Times.
Life is good.
They'll probably email them if you want, too. That's what our local Brookshire's and Kroger do...
Your story and the one I posted is probably happening all over America.
It has to be scaring the hell out of the elites who control the Dinosaur Fish Wraps.
Any person who doesn't click on the link to read the story will get a "catchy" headline which gives the liberal slant on a news story.
It's disgusting.
I agree. It's likely that they are finally able to read the sign that tells them that the road they are driving on heads over a cliff.
Thanks for the idea.
They are too arrogant to recognize what is killing them, like poing 72 million voters for GW. Those POed voters don't subscribe nor buy these fish wraps. Nor do they buy ads to sell cars, boats and other personal items. That is a big double whammy against these vile Dinosaur Fishwraps.
I cancelled mine in 1998 when I moved from Philadelphia to Los Angeles. Two weeks ago I got a mailing from them begging me to come back to them at some dirt-cheap introductory rate. I'm holding off until they offer to pay me to receive it.
Not many, though. That 0.5% increase only amounts to 5,700 copies.
Our local Gannett rag now produces a special "junk mail" edition, which they force their paper boys to deliver on Saturdays, without pay, to every house on their route that doesn't subscribe to the paper. It contains all the circulars from the Sunday paper, wrapped around a very thin (maybe only four pages) editorial section that consists entirely of the most useless repurposed content from the previous week's real paper; you know, the police blotter, who's divorcing whom, filler material like that.
Not quite 50%, but close. I looked it up; 46% of USA Today's circulation is from "bulk sales", as of 2003. According to the circulation auditors, "In bulk sales, we included all papers listed outside of individually paid circulation, which includes hotel sales, educational copies and third party sales to such business as airlines and restaurants."
Thanks for the info. I'm surprised that many people pay for it.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.