Shoppers, a.m.'s growing

By: Steve Yahn Latest E&P Year Book figures show signs of health

The newspaper industry, reflecting the growing early-bird habits of the American people, saw the number of morning papers expand to 721 as of Feb. 1, compared with 705 at the same year-earlier date, according to the just released 1999 edition of the Editor & Publisher International Year Book.
This year a three-volume set of the Year Book brings users expanded listings for community newspapers and specialty newspapers and for the first time offers extensive information about shopper publications, weekly newspaper groups, and niche publications.
Overall daily newspaper readership in the United States for the year ended Feb. 1 jumped 588,379 to 78,487,102 from 77,898,723. The figures include daily newspaper circulation and the seven-day average of all nondaily newspaper circulation.
The expanded 79th edition shows that the number of U.S. dailies decreased by 20 papers. The greater part of this change, however, was due to mergers and conversions. Only three morning dailies and one evening daily (Nashville Banner) stopped publication.
Almost half the drop is accounted for by the consolidation of 10 Gannett Suburban newspapers published from White Plains, N.Y., consolidated into the Westchester-Rockland Journal News.
Four other mergers took place, including two among dailies under joint operating agreements in Evansville, Ind., and Chattanooga, Tenn. Three dailies converted to weekly publishing plans and the Pittsburgh, Pa., North Hills News Record became a zoned edition of the Greensburg, Pa., Tribune-Review.
Eleven U.S. Sunday newspapers started publication in the year ended Feb. 1 (not including the Sunday edition of the Woodbridge, Va., Potomac News, now shared with the Manassas (Va.) Journal Messenger). The overall number of Sunday papers, however, decreased by 5 to 898.
The three-volume set of the Year Book costs $179. To order, contact Marlene Hazzard, 1-800-336-4380, ext. 251.

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?(copyright: Editor & Publisher April 17, 1999) [Caption]