Newspaper Circulation Continues Decline

U.S. newspaper circulation fell 3.6 percent in the last six months.

Among top 20 U.S. newspapers, only the two largest national dailies, USA Today and The Wall Street Journal, were able to increase circulation.

Newspaper circulation has been on a declining trend since the 1980s. According to the Audit Bureau of Circulations, the pace of decline has picked up in recent years as more people go online for news, information and entertainment:

Gannett Co.'s USA Today remained the top-selling paper in the country with an average daily circulation of, 2,284,219, up 0.3 percent, while The Wall Street Journal rose 0.4 percent to 2,069,463.

[. . .]

The New York Times Co.'s flagship paper remained the third-largest with circulation of 1,077,256, down 3.9 percent from the same period a year earlier. That company also owns The Boston Globe and International Herald Tribune.

Metropolitan dailies have suffered the worst declines, a trend that continued in the most recent reporting period, with the Dallas Morning News reporting a 10.6 percent drop to 368,313.

Courtesy of the Associated Press, here are the percentage changes in average paid weekday circulation of the nation's 20 largest newspapers:

1. USA Today, 2,284,219, up 0.3 percent

2. The Wall Street Journal, 2,069,463, up 0.4 percent

3. The New York Times, 1,077,256, down 3.9 percent

4. Los Angeles Times, 773,884, down 5.1 percent

5. New York Daily News, 703,137, down 2.1 percent

6. New York Post, 702,488, down 3.1 percent

7. The Washington Post, 673,180, down 3.6 percent

8. Chicago Tribune, 541,663, down 4.4 percent

9. Houston Chronicle, 494,131, down 1.8 percent

10. The Arizona Republic, 413,332, down 4.7 percent

11. Newsday, Long Island, 379,613, down 4.7 percent

12. San Francisco Chronicle, 370,345, down 4.2 percent

13. Dallas Morning News, 368,313, down 10.6 percent

14. The Boston Globe, 350,605, down 8.3 percent

15. The Star-Ledger of Newark, N.J., 345,130, down 7.4 percent

16. The Philadelphia Inquirer, 334,150, down 5.1 percent

17. The Plain Dealer, Cleveland, 330,280, down 4.2 percent

18. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 326,907, down 8.5 percent

19. Star Tribune of Minneapolis-St. Paul, 321,984, down 6.7 percent

20. St. Petersburg Times, Florida, 316,007, down 2.1 percent

How much longer can printed newspapers survive?

Comments

[John]

I think online publishing only can raise these shrinking circulation numbers. In these days, most of the people using web and they are looking for online editions of all print editions. There are new technologies came in circulation and these new mediums will definitely thrive the readership rate. Companies like http://www.pressmart.net helping the print publishers to distribute over the new technology mediums. I think these kinds of services will really increase the revenues.