JOA Circs Hammered In FAS-FAX Reporting Period

By: Mark Fitzgerald Newspapers in joint operating agreements (JOAs) found little comfort in their partnerships as circulations in these shared operations fell steeper than the industry average.

In Seattle, for instance, the Post-Intelligencer plunged 9% to 132,694 from 145,964. The Seattle Times also fell significantly, down 7% compared to the same six-month period in 2004, to 215,502.

Seattle's joint Sunday newspaper suffered only slightly less, with circulation off 5% to 441,398.

According to a Newspaper Association of America analysis of the FAS-FAX figures released this week by the Audit Bureau of Circulations, average circulation was down 2.6% weekdays, and 3.1% on Sundays.

Continuing a trend that has accelerated in the past few years, smaller JOA partner paper were the biggest losers this reporting period.

The Las Vegas Sun, for instance, lost a stunning 40.5% of its circulation in the past year, collapsing to 24,154 to 40,565. During the reporting period, the JOA announced that starting Sept. 30, the Sun would cease publishing as a standalone paper and become a section inside the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

The Review-Journal also had a slight circulation loss during the period, dropping 0.9% to 158,116.

The same pattern held at other JOAs. In Birmingham, Ala., the smaller Post-Herald was down 11.5% to 7,095, while the News' decline was about half that, down 5.7% to 144,171.

In Albuquerque, N.M., the smaller Tribune sank 7.1% to 11,960, while the Journal was off slightly, down 0.4% to 106,878.

Only three JOAs reported any papers increasing, and in all three cases it was the paper with the circulation lead.

In Tucson, Ariz., the Star was up 3.3% to 104,130, while the Tucson Citizen fell 5.4% to 28,427.

In Ft. Wayne, Ind., Journal Gazette circulation jumped 10% to 67,830 while its partner, the News-Sentinel, was down 8.4% to 31,213.

And in West Virginia, the Charleston Mail plunged 16.9% to 24,358 while its partner, the Gazette, reported a healthy increase of 4.1% to 49,969.

Rounding out the JOAs, in Michigan, the Detroit News dropped 3.3% to 216,711, while the bigger Free Press was down 2.2% 341,248. The combined Sunday edition was down 4.3% to 679,484. The Denver JOA, which is still deliberately shedding circulation amassed during their intense newspaper war, reported a combined circulation drop of 4.1%, and, as in recent years, nearly identical numbers: 264,301 for the Denver Post, and 263,425 for the Rocky Mountain News.

In Salt Lake City, the Salt Lake Tribune was down 1.9% to 130,615, while The Deseret News declined 0.2% to 71,051.