By: Charles Geraci In the wake of Belo's revelation on Thursday that it overstated circulation figures for The Dallas Morning News, the nation's largest newspaper publishers emphasized that they have rigorous circulation auditing systems in place.
Tara Connell, vice president/corporate communications for Gannett Co. Inc., said that the company has stringent circulation policies to begin with. "At all our papers, and especially at USA Today, we have three, sometimes four, levels of audits," she told E&P on Friday. "We make sure every 't' is crossed and every 'i' is dotted."
After the circulation scandals at Newsday, Hoy, and the Chicago Sun-Times, Gannett has "taken a closer look to make sure we continue to be vigilant" in reporting circulation, Connell said.
Knight Ridder has a "set of circulation principles which we have adhered to for several years," according to Polk Laffoon IV, corporate spokesman for the San Jose, Calif.-based company. "We have an internal circulation auditing process which is, I believe, more intense than what [the Audit Bureau of Circulations] brings from the outside," he said.
Laffoon maintains Knight Ridder is always looking at its circulation figures. In his view, "our circulation numbers as reported are correct and we are working hard to ensure that as we always do." After the Tribune Co. revealed its circulation problems, Knight Ridder has asked its circulation officers to sign a certification of the numbers at the end of every quarter, according to Laffoon.
A feature story in the August print issue of E&P noted that the continuing circ woes come at a bad time for the newspaper industry, which hasn't seen a full-swing advertising recovery. "Circulation is very important for establishing rates," Jeff Piper, vice president and general manager of Carat Press, a media-buying agency in Chicago, was quoted as saying. "A lot of people look at it for trending, and how a paper is doing in the market. If there are inaccuracies in newsstand sales, that's [going to have] a huge impact."
"There will be a period of more scrutiny until we can repair any damage," said John Murray, vice president of circulation for the Newspaper Association of America. "It has caught the attention of our customers and advertisers."
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