Newspaper Circulation Falls 2.1 Percent

Monday April 30, 10:26 am ET By Seth Sutel, AP Business Writer

Weekday Circulation at Daily Newspapers Falls 2.1 Percent in Latest Reporting Period

NEW YORK (AP) -- Weekday circulation at U.S. daily newspapers fell 2.1 percent in the latest six-month reporting period, according to figures released Monday, in the latest sign that people are turning to the Internet and other media for news.

Comparable figures for Sunday newspapers fell 3.1 percent, according to the Newspaper Association of America, an industry group. The calculations are based on reports that newspapers deliver to the Audit Bureau of Circulations.

Among large newspapers, the performance was mixed for the six months ending in March, with several showing gains, most notably The New York Post, which is locked in a fierce competition with the New York Daily News.

Those papers had the largest gains among the major dailies, with the Post's average weekday circulation rising 7.6 percent over the same period a year earlier, while the Daily News rose 1.4 percent.

The New York Post, which is owned by Rupert Murdoch's media conglomerate News Corp., recently announced that it would double its weekday price as of Monday to 50 cents from 25 cents. The Daily News, owned by the real estate developer Mortimer Zuckerman, charges 50 cents on weekdays.

Gannett Co.'s USA Today remained the largest daily in the country, with circulation of 2,278,022, up 0.2 percent from the same period a year earlier, ahead of The Wall Street Journal at 2,062,312, up 0.6 percent.

The Dallas Morning News, owned by Belo Corp., posted a 14.3 percent decline to 411,919, reporting for the first time since being censured in 2004 for misstating its circulation figures.

Newsday, based in New York's Long Island, had a 6.9 percent decline to 398,231. That paper, owned by Tribune Co., had also previously been censured for misstating circulation but returned to reporting circulation for the period ending in March 2006.

The Chicago Sun-Times remains the only major newspaper that had been censured by the Audit Bureau for misstatements in 2004 and has still not yet resumed reporting.

The Sun-Times' parent company had previously been known as Hollinger International Inc., run by the now-deposed press baron Conrad Black, and is now known as the Sun-Times Media Group Inc.

Newspaper circulation has been declining steadily for years amid changing reader habits and the emergence of other media for news, particularly 24-hour cable TV news and the Internet.

However the average weekday decline of 2.1 percent in the latest period was not as steep as the fall of 2.8 percent reported for the six-month period ending in October, or the six months ending in March 2006, when the decline was 2.5 percent.

Many newspapers are attracting readers and advertising dollars through their Web sites, but the growth in online revenues is generally outweighed by declines in print advertising, which still makes up the vast majority of newspapers' business.

Online readership of newspaper sites continues to grow. The NAA pointed to recently released data from Nielsen//NetRatings showing a 5.3 percent increase in the number of people who visited newspaper Web sites in the first quarter of 2007.

AP STORY: Circulation at the Top 20 Newspapers Monday

April 30, 10:59 am ET By The Associated Press

Average Weekday Circulation at the Top 20 U.S. Newspapers

Average paid weekday circulation of the nation's 20 largest newspapers for the six-month period ending in March, as reported Monday by the Audit Bureau of Circulations. The percentage changes are from the comparable year-ago period.

1. USA Today, 2,278,022, up 0.2 percent

2. The Wall Street Journal, 2,062,312, up 0.6 percent

3. The New York Times, 1,120,420, down 1.9 percent

4. Los Angeles Times, 815,723, down 4.2 percent

5. New York Post, 724,748, up 7.6 percent

6. New York Daily News, 718,174, up 1.4 percent

7. The Washington Post, 699,130, down 3.5 percent

8. Chicago Tribune, 566,827, down 2.1 percent

9. Houston Chronicle, 503,114, down 2 percent

10. The Arizona Republic, 433,731, down 1.1 percent

11. Dallas Morning News, 411,919, down 14.3 percent

12. Newsday, Long Island, 398,231, down 6.9 percent

13. San Francisco Chronicle, 386,564, down 2.9 percent

14. The Boston Globe, 382,503, down 3.7 percent

15. The Star-Ledger of Newark, N.J., 372,629, down 6.1 percent

16. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 357,399, down 2.1 percent

17. The Philadelphia Inquirer, 352,593, up 0.6 percent

18. Star Tribune of Minneapolis-St. Paul, 345,252, down 4.9 percent

19. The Plain Dealer, Cleveland, 344,704, up 0.5 percent

20. Detroit Free Press, 329,989, down 4.7 percent

The Dallas Morning News is reporting for the first time since being censured in 2004 for misstating circulation figures. The Chicago Sun-Times has not yet resumed reporting.
Source: Audit Bureau of Circulations.