Newspaper Circulation Skids Another 7% over Latest Six-Month Period

More bad news from newspapers: for the six months ended March 31, 2009, the largest dailies are losing subscribers at a record pace, with circulation down 7% compared with the same period in March 2008.

For Sunday newspapers, circulation was down 5.3%, per the Audit Bureau of Circulations, writes Editor & Publisher.

Circulation at the New York Times (NYT) slipped 3.5% during the week and 1.7% on Sundays. The Washington Post (WPO) fell 1.6% daily and 2.3% on Sundays, while USA Today (GCI) fell 7.4% during the week on a decline in copies ordered from hotels. The Chicago Tribune fell 7.4% daily and 4.5% on Sunday, and the Los Angeles Times slipped 6.5% and 7.5%.

The Boston Globe plunged 13.6% during the week and 11.2% on Sundays. Other papers that saw double-digit declines in circulation include the New York Daily News (NWS) (down 14% during the week), New York Post (down 20%), The Miami Herald (-15.8%), the San Francisco Chronicle (-15.7%), the Philadelphia Inquirer (-13.7%), and the Houston Chronicle (-14%).

In addition to sinking circulation, newspaper ad revenue is plunging at historic rates. McClatchy (MNI) ad revenue plummeted 29.5% in Q1 2009 compared to the same quarter last year, while The New York Times Co. saw ad revenue plunge 27%. Zenith Optimedia predicts that ad spending for newspapers will sink 12% in 2009.

Comments

[NP Refugee]

When all is said and done, we'll all find out that the main issue with newspapers was one of credibility. The issue has been there all along; it's just exposed terribly in a world where the bright light is cast on media bias and untruths so quickly by other sources less beholden to the old guard. In the end, it will be determined that they are far from the unimpeachable source they claim to and should be.

2009 Apr 28 11:00 AM

[notsosmart]

dead papers printing. & when they are gone the happiest folks will be the politicians.one less prying eye(well it used to be prying.)

2009 Apr 28 04:25 PM

[jay fredrickson]

Newspaper companies try to put a spin on it by saying their total readership is up, when including online. That does not make up for the drastic loss in ad revenue, and it appears online revenue will never, ever take the place of ROP and preprint revenue. Very sad what has happened to newspapers, but the companies have way too much debt on their balance sheet to ever be a force again.

2009 Apr 30 09:32 AM