By: Mark Fitzgerald Top 20 Charts For Daily, Sunday Circ
After briefly turning upwards earlier this year, both circulation and readership slumped back into their familiar patterns of slow but steady decline, according to two important audits out this week.
The Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC) FAS-FAX report for the six-month period ended Sept. 30 showed daily circulation declined 0.41% from the year before, according to an analysis by the Newspaper Association of America (NAA). Sales of the Sunday paper - whose once-powerful ability to grow circulation and household penetration is now a faded memory - were down 0.71%, NAA reported. When circulation was last reported in the spring, Sunday circulation showed a 0.6% year-to-year decline, but daily papers eked out a rare, if slight, increase of 0.2%.
Daily newspaper readership - a survey-based measurement of audience - among adults declined from 56.2% last spring to 55.1% in the latest Competitive Media Index, an NAA analysis of top-50 market data from Scarborough Research.
At first glance, the latest circulation report looked good for newspapers. Among the 20 biggest dailies, for instance, 19 gained circulation over the year, as did 13 of the 20 biggest Sunday papers. Most of those gains, though, were marginal at best. The Washington Post; Newsday; San Francisco Chronicle; the New York Daily News; Minneapolis Star Tribune; Newark (N.J.) Star-Ledger; and The Philadelphia Inquirer all reported daily circulation increases of less than one-third of 1%.
Even as Denver's two daily newspapers awaited approval to cease business competition with a joint operating agreement (JOA), their continuing price war generated the biggest percentage increases in circulation. Ironically, the Denver Rocky Mountain News, which declared itself a "failing newspaper" for purposes of the JOA, continued to maintain its daily circulation lead over The Denver Post. The Rocky gained an average 30,350 copies, or 7.7%, to 426,465, while the Post was up 43,609 or 11.6% to 420,033. The Post widened its lead on Sundays, gaining 13% to 586,485 while the News' 5% gain increased its circulation to 529,681.
Another paper with a new partner, the Los Angeles Times, declined 44,787, or 4.2%, to a daily circulation of 1,033,399. The Times' new owner, Tribune Co., ended a distribution deal with the Spanish-language daily La Opinion that had helped give the paper a 5% year-to-year gain in this spring's FAS-FAX.
Mark Fitzgerald (mfitzgerald@editorandpublisher.com) is editor at large for E&P.
TOP
20 Daily Papers
ABC
FAS-FAX for Top 20 Daily Newspapers??????
(For six months ended Sept. 30)?
Average
Daily
Circulation????
Gain/(Loss)?
Same
Period Last Year
1.
The
Wall Street Journal (M-F)
1,762,751
10,058
0.6%
2.
USA Today (M-Thu)*
1,692,666
21,127
1.3%
3.
The New York Times (M-F)
1,097,180
10,887
1.0%
4.
Los
Angeles Times (M-F)
1,033,399
(44,787)
(4.2%)
5.
The Washington Post (M-F)?
762,009
201
0%
6.
Daily News, New York (M-F)
704,463
2,700
0.3%
7.
Chicago
Tribune (W-F)**
661,699?
4,009
0.6%
8.
Newsday (M-F)
576,345
1,404
0.2%
9.
Houston Chronicle (M-Sat)
546,799
4,391
0.8%
10.
The
Dallas Morning News (M-Thu)
495,597
5,347
1.1%
11.
Chicago Sun-Times (M-F)
471,031
2,861
0.6%
12.
The Boston Globe (M-F)
464,472
1,621
0.4%
13.
San Francisco Chronicle (M-F)
457,028?
286
0.1%
14.
The
Arizona Republic, Phoenix (M-F)
445,322
11,802
2.7%
15.
New York Post (M-F)
443,951
5,793
1.3%
16.
Denver Rocky Mountain News (M-Sat)
426,465
30,350
7.7%
17.
The Denver Post (M-Sat)
420,033
43,609
11.6%
18.
Star Tribune, Minneapolis (Thu-Sat)***?
411,179
615
0.1%
19.
The
Star-Ledger, Newark
407,537?
408?
0.1%
20.
The
Philadelphia Inquirer (M-F)
400,385
1,046
0.3%
*USA
Today Friday edition reported separately in FAS-FAX as 2,116,778, a? gain of 10,549 copies, or 0.5%. Five-day
average calculated by E&P: 1,777,488, an increase of 19,011 copies, or
1.1%, over year-ago period.
**M-F
average calculated by E&P: 618,097, a decrease of 7,999 copies, or 1.3%,
under year-ago period.
***M-Sat
average calculated by E&P: 373,828, an increase of 291 copies, or 0.1%,
over year-ago period.
TOP
20 SUNDAY Papers
ABC
FAS-FAX for Top 20 Sunday Newspapers?
(For
six months ended Sept. 30)
Average
Sunday
Circulation???
Gain/(Loss)
Same
Period
Last
Year
1.
The New York Times?
1,682,208
27,677
1.7%
2.
Los
Angeles Times
1,379,564
?(17,369)
(1.3%)
3.
The
Washington Post
1,065,011
(13,278)
(1.2%)
4.
Chicago Tribune
1,007,236
2,061
0.2%
5.
The Philadelphia Inquirer
798,252
(21,845)
(2.7%)
6.
Sunday News, New York?
790,935
234
?0%
7.
The Dallas Morning News?
785,758?
3,800
0.5%
8.
The Detroit News & Free Press
748,383
(20,586)
(2.7%)
9.
Houston Chronicle
743,009
2,873
0.4%
10.
The Boston Globe
721,859
(8,497)
(1.2%)
11.
Newsday
674,662
832
0.1%
12.
Star Tribune, Minneapolis
674,346
818
0.1%
13.
Atlanta Journal and Constitution
644,239
(24,295)
(3.6%)
14.
The Star-Ledger, Newark
608,015
1,009
0.2%
15.
The Denver Post
586,485
67,628
13.0%
16.
The Arizona Republic, Phoenix
559,170
6
0%
17.
San Francisco Examiner & Chronicle
552,400
(26,051)
(4.5%)
18.
Denver Rocky Mountain News?
529,681
25,194
5%
19.
Seattle Times/Post-Intelligencer
501,845
1,801
0.3%
20.
St. Louis Post-Dispatch?
487,245
(13,152)
(2.6%)
Copyright 2000, Editor & Publisher.
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