US newspaper circulation slide accelerates

AFP on Yahoo ^ | 10/26/09 | Chris Lefkow

[NormsRevenge]

WASHINGTON (AFP) – Daily circulation figures for US newspapers released on Monday provided more bad news for the embattled industry.

Average daily circulation fell more than 10 percent in the April-September period compared with the same period last year, accelerating a slide that has led to bankruptcies, closures and cutbacks in newsrooms across the country.

Average circulation for 562 Sunday newspapers was down 7.49 percent.

The Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC) figures also confirmed a claim made earlier this month by The Wall Street Journal that it had become the largest US newspaper by weekday circulation, leapfrogging USA Today.

Of the top 25 newspapers in the United States, the News Corp.-owned Journal was the only one to gain Monday-Friday circulation, rising 0.61 percent to 2.02 million.

USA Today's circulation fell 17.5 percent to 1.9 million.

The New York Times remained the third-largest newspaper in the country but its circulation declined 7.28 percent to 927,851.

Average daily circulation for 379 daily newspapers was down 10.62 percent at the end of September to 30.39 million from 34.0 million at the end of September 2008, according to the ABC.

The slide was greater than the 7.09 percent registered during the October to March period and the 4.64 percent decline during April to September last year.

[Texas Fossil]

My chronology was stated wrong. Watergate proceeded the LBO’s.

[Texas Fossil]

Another similar article that is worth reading>

“Record plunge: Newspaper circ at pre-WWII low”

http://newsosaur.blogspot.com/2009/10/record-plunge-newspaper-circ-at-pre_26.html

This has been going on for a long time and only those papers who realize what the problem “really” is will survive. The issue in not medium (print vs electronic) but content.

[RipSawyer]

The issue in not medium (print vs electronic) but content.
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No doubt, I used to be willing to pay what a subscription cost thirty years ago if there had only been the comics page. But those were the days of Walt Kelley, Al Capp etc., there is nothing funny on a comics page since “Calvin and Hobbes” ended.