More [Newspaper] Circulation Declines, Particularly at Metro Dailies

E&P/AP ^ | May 8 06 | Editor & Publisher and AP

[syriacus]

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.

Sheesh!! Their next step will be sending around questionnaires to make sure the non-subscribers are doing the required reading.

[wgflyer]

"I wonder if literacy is declining or whether we are just happier with electronic media these days."

Pertinent observation. I was thinking that, among other things, dumbed down propaganda fed youth grow up either unable to read well enough, or uninterested in anything other than MTV and computer games. What are they going to do with a newspaper? The other thing that comes to mind is that more present and most future democrat voters buy spanish newspapers.

[IamConservative]

I would guess circulation is down because more and more people are discovering Charmin provides superior cleansing, is more puncture resistant and does not leave ink residue.

[Sam Cree]

FWIW, the article lists the Miami Herald, which is published in both Spanish and English, among those papers suffering declines in circulation. But the Spanish language angle does make sense.

[whd23]

I wonder if literacy is declining...

It may be increasing due to people not reading the paper. Have you read a "news" paper lately? The writing is terrible. Why read poorly-composed and poorly-edited articles slapped together under a short deadline when you can pick up a good book that was crafted by the author over a longer period?

[Sam Cree]

I get a couple newspapers, the writing in the WSJ seems pretty good on the whole, though I think I'll look at this morning's copy with a more critical eye...OTOH, the Miami Herald can have some pretty sketchy writing. I suppose, that if literacy is decreasing, it only follows that the writing skills of newspaper journalists would lessen as well, in step with those of society in general. In any case, you are probably right, where the reading of newspapers once sharpened our literary skills, the opposite is now true.

[Dont Mention the War]

Sheesh!! Their next step will be sending around questionnaires to make sure the non-subscribers are doing the required reading.

They don't have to. The paperboys are also required to insert every freebie paper into bright green plastic wrappers before tossing them onto nonsubscribers' driveways. (The real newspaper never gets wrapped in anything except when there's a downpour, and then they only get plain clear wrappers.) Then about twelve hours later the circulation managers drive around their assigned neighborhoods and count the number of missing bright green wrappers.

[syriacus]

...about twelve hours later the circulation managers drive around their assigned neighborhoods and count the number of missing bright green wrappers.

Quite a system..

[wgflyer]

"FWIW, the article lists the Miami Herald, which is published in both Spanish and English, among those papers suffering declines in circulation. "

I may have over estimated spanish language readership. Reports say that many illegals are uneducated. If their "anchor" kids are educated in our public schools they'll be just as unlikely to read a newspaper (or even a book) as our own kids.

[Sam Cree]

Yes, on second thought, I too am thinking that the decline would have to include the "immigrants," since our population is actually being grown by their presence, while newspaper readership simultaneously declines.

Miami's immigrant population, which is larger than the native population, has traditionally been Cuban, and quite well educated, I would say. OTOH, there are now folks here from all over the Caribbean, especially Jamaica and Haiti, Central and South America, and even Russia and Eastern Europe. But I think the ones who come here still tend to be the harder workers, and the ones with more education. The Mexicans are also hard workers, and they are here too, with probably a good bit less education than the others. In any case, the Spanish version of the Herald was originally aimed, I believe, at the Cuban population.

[wgflyer]

it is interesting the difference between the Cuban and the Mexican. Cubans flee a communist dictator, Mexicans flee simply massive corruption and tend towards socialism.. My perception of the two groups is that the former appreciate the land they've come to more than the latter. However, any group that come here and refuse to adopt our language and culture are worrisome to me. I've got little experience in Florida, but the one time I flew through Miami I bought lunch there in the airport and had to order it in spanish in order for the guy taking the order to respond. The attitudes I encounter in those who don't want to speak English is very unsettling, and that they have the social infrastructure in place that they don't need to speak English is even more so.

[jaime1959]

> The Washington Times celebrated its 23rd anniversary yesterday with cake and champagne served to its employees at a midafternoon assembly, as its executives announced a substantial gain in audited circulation in the face of a national trend of declining U.S. newspaper numbers.

For the six-month period ending March 31, the newspaper's daily circulation from Monday through Friday climbed to 103,017 -- an increase of nearly 3 percent over the similar period last year, according to Fas-Fax, the Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC) report of publishers' estimates. <

That's from last year's report. Wonder how they did this year.

[xp38]

My copy of the first moon landing newspaper (getting a bit yellow brown and brittle these days) is always interesting to see since below the fold is the first report of the incident with Ted and Mary Jo.