Yes, Grim FAS-FAX Does Include Some Gainers, With Baton Rouge a Leader

By: E&P Staff Although the Audit Bureau of Circulations' September FAS-FAX finds mostly modest to severe declines at a majority of daily newspapers, some fought the trend pretty well. But they are shockingly few and far-between. Here are a few samples.

Perhaps the biggest gainer, surely with the help of hurricane coverage, and an upsurge in city residents: The Baton Rouge (La.) Advocate, jumping over 3000 copies, Monday to Saturday. No other Louisiana paper gained, however, and the Times-Picayune in New Orleans did not report at all "due to extenuating circumstances -- hurricane impact."

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The Palm Beach (Fla.) Post picked up nearly 1,000 weekday readers, to 190,931.

The News & Observer in Raleigh, N.C. gained abut 1,400 copies weekdays to 165,604.

The Star-Ledger in Newark, N.J. gained exactly 50 on weekdays, to 400,092.

The Cincinnati Enquirier gained about 60, to 189,219 weekdays.

The Argus in Fremont, Calif., gained about 300 copies, to 32,189 daily.

The Centre Daily Times in State College, Pa., gained 181 weekday readers to 24,751.

The Sentinel in Grand Junction, Colo., picked up about 600 to 30,400. Not to be outdone, the Greeley Tribune, also in Colo., picked up 200 daily, to 25,120.

The Sun News in Myrtle Beach, S.C., gained about 400, to 49,835.

The Woodbury (N.J.) Times eked out exactly 37 more weekdays, to 23,286.

Post-Crescent of Appleton, Wis., gained 252 copies Monday-Friday to 51,985.

Laredo (Tex.) Morning times grew its paid circulation over 800 Monday-Saturday to 21,488.

Of the largest papers, The New York Times and USA Today managed to stay on an even keel.