http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20061030/media_...a_newspapers_dc
Newspaper circulation falls 2.8 pct: study
By Robert MacMillanMon Oct 30, 10:57 AM ET
U.S. newspaper circulation fell 2.8 percent as of the end of September, according to industry data released on Monday, highlighting the further migration of readers to the Internet and other media outlets.
Far sharper declines were posted at newspapers seen as potential acquisition targets, including the Los Angeles Times and the Boston Globe, as the industry attempts to reshape itself and counter rival news providers online and elsewhere.
A Newspaper Association of America (NAA) analysis of data on 770 newspapers released by the Audit Bureau of Circulations found that average daily circulation fell 2.8 percent to about 43.8 million copies for the six months ended September 30, compared with the same period a year ago.
Sunday circulation at 619 newspapers included in the report dropped 3.4 percent from a year ago, the NAA said.
The group added that total newspaper readership is rising, when Web site use, sharing papers and other measures are included. The NAA has been emphasizing more positive total readership numbers than paid circulation figures over the last few years.
"Data that measure the expanded audience is precisely what advertisers want to enhance their understanding of consumer use across newspapers' multiple media platforms," said NAA Chief Executive John Sturm. "Simply focusing on print circulation numbers in a vacuum obscures that understanding."
Some of the drop in the audit bureau numbers represents publishers' efforts to reduce the amount of discounted copies and papers delivered in bulk to hotel rooms and similar places that they have considered paid circulation in the past.
Newspaper publishers are coping with a slump in advertising as viewers spend more time on the Internet. Publishers are bulking up their Web presence, but online ad revenue increases have not compensated for the drop-off in print revenue.
TROUBLED PUBLISHERS EYED
Private equity firms and other groups have been eyeing papers run by troubled publishers, such as Tribune Co.. Business and civic leaders have also indicated interest in several of its papers, including the Los Angeles Times, whose circulation fell 8 percent in the past year.
Tribune, which was set to receive offers for a leveraged buyout last Friday, reported additional declines for its Hartford Courant and The Baltimore Sun.
USA Today, the national daily paper published by Gannett Co. Inc., saw paid average daily circulation slip 1.3 percent to about 2.3 million readers from the six-month period ended in September 2005.
Daily paid circulation at The New York Times fell 3.5 percent to about 1.1 million readers. The New York Times Co.'s Boston Globe saw circulation fall 6.7 percent.
Former General Electric Co. Chief Executive Jack Welch and Boston businessman Jack Connors have discussed buying the paper, according to a spokesman for Connors.
The Wall Street Journal, owned by Dow Jones & Co. Inc., had a 1.9 percent drop in circulation. The Wall Street Journal Weekend Edition, launched last year to broaden the paper's ad base, reported a 6.7 percent drop in circulation.
Several papers reported higher circulation, including Media General Inc.'s Richmond Times-Dispatch, News Corp.'s New York Post, the New York Daily News, and Gannett's The Indianapolis Star in Indiana and The Courier-Journal in Louisville, Kentucky.