Telemarketing Rules Partly Blamed for Circ Declines

By: Jennifer Saba Why did the FAS-FAX report released Monday prove so disappointing to so many newspapers, large and small? Some newspapers taking a circulation hit have pointed to the do-not-call legislation as the prime culprit. The Arizona Republic in Phoenix is the latest to attribute circ declines in part to new limits on telemarketing.

For the period ending March 2004, the paper's daily circ decreased by 19,205 copies. Sunday circ declined 9,834. "Certainly the changes in telemarketing [regulation] affected us," said Mike Womack, vice president of circulation at the Republic (Click for QuikCap). "We're trying to transition out. We were still using telemarketing to generate new starts." As for Sunday copies, Womack "is not sure if there is a good reason" for the decline. "You're always disappointed when you're losing circ."

The paper is also trying to figure out a way to address the growing Hispanic market. "That's a big challenge for us," Womack said.

Even those papers that experienced circ increases, no matter how tiny, are thankful for the positive gains. Bob Eickhoff, vice president of circulation and operations at the Orlando (Fla.) Sentinel, which saw a 1% increase in daily circ, quipped, "I'm not so sure that's slight these days." Eickhoff attributes the increase in daily copies, up 2,495, to intense third-party sponsorships and hotel distribution.

But like a majority of other major metros, Sunday circ for the Sentinel was down by 6,048 copies. "We were up against three major news stories for the same period last year," Eickhoff says, referring to the Super Bowl, the Columbia Disaster and the Iraq war, which all goosed circ for the year-ago period.

Another paper that saw mixed results, The San Diego Union-Tribune, noticed an increase in Thursday-Saturday copies (up 2,501). Bill Nagel, circulation director, says that many customers are choosing to subscribe in the later part of the week (saving themselves some money) because that's when the paper has the most features and advertising. Circ for Monday-Wednesday experienced a steep decline of 18,070 copies. "I think we will continue to follow what the customer wants and we will continue to offer more choices," Nagel said. "I would say right now, we are focused on the later part of the week and I wouldn't say we are overly alarmed."