This week the Audit Bureau of Circulations published the circulations of the top 25 US newspapers for the six months to September 2009. 24 out of 25 of them show a decline. The WSJ officially overtook USA Today as the largest circulation daily newspaper at 2,024,269. It was the only one to grow.
The decline of print newspapers isn't new, but the pace is not slowing. The question for communicators, is how are you planning to respond? Are you opening new channels? Which are working best? Does this change which newspapers you pitch (these don't include syndication)?
Many papers are now focusing on their smaller circulations, charging them a higher price and trying to stabilize the income they get from that readership. The argument being for advertisers that this audience is more engaged as shown by their willingness to pay a higher cover price. If you buy into that argument, the same is true on the PR side in terms of the impact of that coverage within thos publications. And let's not forget the online aspects – from SEO to bloggers who link to key stories.
Still the circulations figures make for painful reading. Details are below.
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL — 2,024,269 — 0.61%
USA TODAY — 1,900,116 — (-17.15%)
THE NEW YORK TIMES — 927,851 — (-7.28%)
LOS ANGELES TIMES — 657,467 — (-11.05%)
THE WASHINGTON POST — 582,844 — (-6.40%)
DAILY NEWS (NEW YORK) — 544,167 — (-13.98%)
NEW YORK POST — 508,042 — (-18.77%)
CHICAGO TRIBUNE — 465,892 — (-9.72%)
HOUSTON CHRONICLE — 384,419 — (-14.24%)
THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER — 361,480 — N/A
NEWSDAY — 357,124 — (-5.40%)
THE DENVER POST — 340,949 — N/A
THE ARIZONA REPUBLIC — 316,874 — (-12.30%)
STAR TRIBUNE, MINNEAPOLIS — 304,543 — (-5.53%)
CHICAGO SUN-TIMES — 275,641 — (-11.98%)
The PLAIN DEALER, CLEVELAND — 271,180 — (-11.24%)
DETROIT FREE PRESS (e) — 269,729 — (-9.56%)
THE BOSTON GLOBE — 264,105 — (-18.48%)
THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS — 263,810 — (-22.16%)
THE SEATTLE TIMES — 263,588 — N/A
SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE — 251,782 — (-25.82%)
THE OREGONIAN — 249,163 — (-12.06%)
THE STAR-LEDGER, NEWARK — 246,006 — (-22.22%)
SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE — 242,705 — (-10.05%)
ST. PETERSBURG (FLA.) TIMES — 240,147 — (-10.70%)