Most Major Papers Continue Circ Decline

By Jennifer Saba Published:

October 27, 2008 7:55 AM ET

NEW YORK For those holding out for some improvement in print circulation, this morning brings disappointment. The Audit Bureau of Circulations released the latest figures for the six- month period ending September 2008 and the report shows major drops in circulation at the big metros.

According to ABC for the 507 newspapers reporting in this period, daily circulation slipped 4.6% to 38,165,848 copies. For the 571 papers, Sunday dropped 4.8% to 43,631,646 copies.

For comparison purposes, in September 2007 reporting period, daily circ fell 2.6% and Sunday was down 4.6%.

Across the country, publishers have put in place plans to cater to core readers and subscribers. It's too expensive to bulk up circulation in unprofitable areas such as third-party, newspapers in education, and bonus day copies.

Not in the core market defined by the newspaper? You are out of luck, at least for the print edition. All daily averages below are for Monday through Friday. The percent change compares this September period to the same period last year.

Daily circ at The New York Times fell 3.5% to 1,000,665 copies.

The Wall Street Journal (as we reported last week) was virtually flat, up about 1,800 copies on a daily basis to 2,011,999. USA Today was also up a fraction of a percent to 2,293,310 copies.

But The Washington Post's daily circulation declined 1.9% to 622,714. Sunday was down 3.1% to 866,057. At the Los Angeles Times circ decreased a little more 5% daily and on Sunday to 739,147 and 1,055,076, respectively. Daily circulation at the Chicago Tribune was down 7.7% to 516,032. Sunday declined 5.7% to 864,845 copies.

The San Francisco Chronicle lost 7% of its daily circulation to 339,430 copies while Sunday was down a hair more, 7.4% to 398,116. The San Jose Mercury News was down slightly, 1.9% to 224,199 and Sunday was down much more, 4.3% to 241,518.

On the East Coast, daily circulation at The Boston Globe plummeted 10.1% to 323,983 copies. Sunday circ was down 8.4% to 503,659. The Baltimore Sun’s daily circ declined 5.9% to 218,923 while Sunday fell 3.8% to 350,640.

Daily circulation at The Philadelphia Inquirer slipped 11.0% to 300,674 copies. Sunday plunged 13.7% to 556,426. At the Daily News in Philly, daily circ slipped 13.2% to 97,694.

Daily circ at The Arizona Republic declined 5.5% to 361,333 while Sunday 3.6% to 463,036. Its sister paper the Indianapolis Star lost 3.3% of its daily circ (244,796 copies) and 4.6% of Sunday to 321,760.

In Florida circulation fell steeply at the Miami Herald - its daily circ was down 11.8% to 210,884. Sunday was down 9% to 279,484. The Orlando Sentinel lost 3.3% of its daily circ to 206,363 and about the same on Sunday (-3.2%) to 307,976 copies.

Daily circ at the Denver Post dropped 6.5% to 210,585 and at the Rocky Mountain News it was down 6.6% to 210,281. The combined Sunday circulation for the JOA papers declined 9.1% to 545,442.

In Detroit, the Free Press lost 6.8% of its daily circ to 298,243 copies. The Detroit News’ daily circ plunged 10.0% to 178,280 copies.

Go here for the list of the top 25 daily newspapers in the country and the top 25 Sunday newspapers.

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NEW YORK Here are the top 25 daily papers ranked for the six-month period ending September 2008 based on a Monday-through-Friday average, according to the new FAS-FAX from the Audit Bureau of Circulations released today. The percent change compares this period to the same period a year ago.

USA TODAY -- 2,293,310 -- 0.01%

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL -- 2,011,999 -- 0.01%

NEW YORK TIMES -- 1,000,665 -- (-3.58%)

LOS ANGELES TIMES -- 739,147 -- (-5.20%)

DAILY NEWS, NEW YORK -- 632,595 -- (-7.16%)

NEW YORK POST -- 625,421 -- (-6.25%)

THE WASHINGTON POST -- 622,714 -- (-1.94%)

CHICAGO TRIBUNE -- 516,032 -- (-7.75%)

HOUSTON CHRONICLE -- 448,271 -- (-11.66%)

NEWSDAY -- 377,517 -- (-2.58%)

THE ARIZONA REPUBLIC -- 361,333 -- (-5.51%)

SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE -- 339,430 -- (-7.07%)

THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS -- 338,933 -- (-9.28%)

BOSTON GLOBE -- 323,983 -- (-10.18%)

STAR TRIBUNE, MINNEAPOLIS -- 322,360 -- (-4.26%)

STAR-LEDGER, NEWARK, N.J. -- 316,280 -- (-10.40%)

CHICAGO SUN-TIMES -- 313,176 -- (-3.94%)

PLAIN DEALER, CLEVELAND -- 305,529 -- (-8.58%)

THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER -- 300,674 -- (-11.06%)

DETROIT FREE PRESS -- 298,243 -- (-6.84%)

THE OREGONIAN -- 283,321 -- (-8.45%)

THE ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION -- 274,999 -- (-13.62%)

SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE -- 269,819 -- (-3.00%)

ST. PETERSBURG (FLA.) TIMES -- 268,935 -- (-6.88%)

THE SACRAMENTO BEE -- 253,249 -- (-4.22%)

Go here for more numbers and E&P’s coverage of the FAS-FAX and here for the top 25 Sunday papers.

Google Profit Tops Estimates on Ad Sales; Shares Rise

By Crayton Harrison

Oct. 16 (Bloomberg) -- Google Inc., owner of the most popular Internet search engine, said third-quarter profit climbed 26 percent as more customers used Web search ads to spur sales in a slowing economy, sending the shares higher.

Net income rose to $1.35 billion, or $4.24 a share, from $1.07 billion, or $3.38, a year earlier, the company said today in a statement. Leaving out costs such as stock-based compensation, profit was $4.92 a share, beating the $4.75 average estimate of analysts in a Bloomberg survey.

Advertisers are shifting budgets away from TV and print media toward ads that run alongside search listings, targeting online shoppers. The Internet will account for 8.7 percent of the $284 billion in U.S. ad spending this year, up from 7.2 percent in 2007, according to Barclays Capital.

This was exactly the kind of shot in the arm that investors need,'' said Jeff Lindsay, an analyst with Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. in New York. ``People lost a lot of faith in the Internet, but this is exactly what the doctor ordered.''

Excluding revenue passed on to partner sites, sales expanded to $4.04 billion, compared with the $4.05 billion average estimate. Total revenue climbed 31 percent to $5.54 billion.

Google, based in Mountain View, California, rose $21.39, or 6.1 percent, to $374.41 in extended trading after closing at $353.02 on the Nasdaq Stock Market. The shares have dropped 49 percent this year.

Being `Realistic'

We are realistic about the poor state of the global economy, but it's Google, so we'll manage accordingly,'' Chief Financial Officer Patrick Pichette said today in an interview. ``We had a good third quarter, with strong traffic and revenue growth.''

In the U.S., Google fielded 63 percent of online searches in August, double the market share of Yahoo! Inc. and Microsoft Corp. combined. That dominance has helped Google command higher prices for ads, according to Yahoo, which is awaiting government approval of an agreement to let Google sell some ads on its sites.

The economic situation is so fluid that we're all sort of in uncharted territory,'' Chief Executive Officer Eric Schmidt said on a conference call. ``We've always been in this for the long term, and we believe that's even more important today than ever.''

Resilient Business

The slumping U.S. economy had been expected to drag down results, said Clay Moran, an analyst at Stanford Group Co. in Boca Raton, Florida. ``What we're seeing is that Google is a resilient business that's going to fare relatively well in this recession, but it's not immune from the overall macroeconomic environment,'' he said.

Google, which doesn't forecast results, is seeing a slowdown in spending from some types of customers, such as U.S. auto and home financing companies, Pichette said.

Google recorded $280 million in costs for stock-based pay, up from $273 million the previous quarter. Those costs will reach $1.1 billion in 2008, leaving out stock awards granted after Oct. 1, Google said.

Sales outside the U.S. made up 51 percent of Google's revenue, up from 48 percent a year earlier. If foreign exchange rates for currency had remained constant over that period, Google's third-quarter sales this year would have been $168 million lower, the company said.
Slower Growth?

The credit crisis may cost the Internet ad market $6.7 billion in lost sales through 2010, according to Collins Stewart Plc. Big and small businesses, from General Motors Corp. to Simplexity LLC, are reducing ad spending plans, while some financial companies, such as Wachovia Corp., have disappeared.

The reductions will push down growth in U.S. Internet ad outlays to less than 20 percent next year for the first time since 2002, said Sandeep Aggarwal, a Collins Stewart analyst in San Francisco.

Google, which gets almost all its revenue from search ads, is testing ways to advertise with images and video. The company struck a deal this month to offer full-length shows from CBS Corp., splitting revenue from the ads.

Microsoft, seeking to close the gap with Google, bid as much as $47.5 billion for Yahoo this year. Sunnyvale, California-based Yahoo rejected Microsoft's offer in May, opting instead to strike the advertising partnership with Google.

To contact the reporter on this story: Crayton Harrison in Dallas at tharrison5@bloomberg.net Last Updated: October 16, 2008 17:03 EDT