Newspaper circ declines
lessen again

Down 4.99 percent on weekdays, according to the ABC

By Bill Cromwell
Oct 25, 2010

The steep declines in newspaper circulation seen over the past few years seem to be slowing, right along with the lessening declines in dollars advertisers are spending on newspapers.

For the six months ended in September, Monday through Friday daily newspaper circulation fell 4.99 percent compared to the year-earlier period for 635 papers, according to numbers released this morning by the Audit Bureau of Circulations.

That's far less than the 8.74 percent decline seen during the previous six-month period, and less than half the 10.62 percent rate reported at this time last year.

Sunday papers' rate of decline also slowed, to 4.46 percent for the 553 papers measured, compared to 6.54 percent during the previous reporting period and 7.49 percent for the year-earlier period.

The numbers probably simply mean that we're getting close to a bottoming out of the circulation declines that have been going on for years; analysts don't expect to see gains anytime soon, and many papers are now seeing their print numbers supplement by online subscriptions.

But while the declines are beginning to even out, it's clear that most of the nation's top papers are still feeling the hurt. Only one top-10 weekday paper, the No. 1 Wall Street Journal, saw a year-to-year rise in circulation, and that's likely in part due to digital subscriptions.

Meanwhile, several big papers are still seeing double-digit year-to-year declines, including the Houston Chronicle and Newsday, off 10.53 percent and 11.84 percent on weekdays.

And only one top-10 paper, the Minneapolis Star Tribune, saw a year-to-year increase in Sunday circulation, up 5.66 percent.

The Greenwich (Conn.) Time was the top gainer overall, including print and online circulation, up 19.74 percent to just over 115,000.

Newspaper ad spending, too, has been seeing more moderate declines over the past six months, though it will be a long time before it's back in the black. The latest forecast from Magna Global puts newspaper media spending this year down 7.8 percent, compared to 28.6 percent last year.

Top 25 Daily Newspapers – Mon.-Fri. As of Sept. 30, 2010
Newspaper	2010 Circ (Daily)	2009 Circ (Daily)	% change
WALL STREET JOURNAL	2,061,142	2,024,269	1.82%
USA TODAY	1,830,594	1,900,116	-3.66%
NEW YORK TIMES	876,638	927,851	-5.52%
LOS ANGELES TIMES	600,449	657,467	-8.67%
WASHINGTON POST	545,345	582,844	-6.43%
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS	512,520	544,167	-5.82%
NEW YORK POST	501,501	508,042	-1.29%
SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS	477,592	-	N/A
CHICAGO TRIBUNE	441,508	465,892	-5.23%
HOUSTON CHRONICLE	343,952	384,437	-10.53%
PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER	342,361	361,481	-5.29%
NEWSDAY	314,848	357,124	-11.84%
DENVER POST	309,863	340,949	-9.12%
ARIZONA REPUBLIC	308,973	316,873	-2.49%
MINNEAPOLIS STAR TRIBUNE	297,478	304,544	-2.32%
DALLAS MORNING NEWS	264,459	263,810	0.25%
CLEVELAND PLAIN DEALER	252,608	271,182	-6.85%
SEATTLE TIMES	251,697	263,588	-4.51%
CHICAGO SUN-TIMES	250,747	275,641	-9.03%
DETROIT FREE PRESS (e)	245,326	269,729	-9.05%
ST. PETERSBURG TIMES	239,684	240,146	-0.19%
OREGONIAN	239,071	249,164	-4.05%
SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE	224,761	242,693	-7.39%
SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE	223,549	251,782	-11.21%
NEWARK STAR-LEDGER	223,037	246,006	-9.34%
Source: Audit Bureau of Circulations

Top 25 Daily Newspapers – Sunday As of Sept. 30, 2010
Newspaper	2010 Circ (Sunday)	2009 Circ (Sunday)	% change
NEW YORK TIMES	1,352,358	1,400,302	-3.42%
LOS ANGELES TIMES	901,119	983,702	-8.40%
CHICAGO TRIBUNE	768,073	803,220	-4.38%
WASHINGTON POST	764,666	822,207	-7.00%
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS	568,266	603,671	-5.86%
SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS	528,536	-	N/A
HOUSTON CHRONICLE (T)	515,236	547,409	-5.88%
MINNEAPOLIS STAR TRIBUNE	504,616	477,564	5.66%
DETROIT FREE PRESS (T) (e)	494,013	560,188	-11.81%
PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER	477,586	499,138	-4.32%
DENVER POST	472,664	495,485	-4.61%
ARIZONA REPUBLIC	457,059	458,992	-0.42%
ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION	384,110	405,551	-5.29%
ST. PETERSBURG TIMES	377,235	370,049	1.94%
NEWSDAY	375,874	413,830	-9.17%
DALLAS MORNING NEWS (T)	373,815	390,523	-4.28%
BOSTON GLOBE	368,303	418,527	-12.00%
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH	365,589	401,425	-8.93%
CLEVELAND PLAIN DEALER (T)	348,324	390,637	-10.83%
NEWARK STAR-LEDGER	346,436	371,061	-6.64%
SEATTLE TIMES	341,265	359,672	-5.12%
NEW YORK POST	339,115	343,361	-1.24%
MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL	331,171	334,241	-0.92%
BALTIMORE SUN	324,018	322,492	0.47%
OREGONIAN	292,800	303,414	-3.50%
Source: Audit Bureau of Circulations