In a continued sign of the times, newspaper circulation rates once again plummeted in the most recent reporting period.
According to Editor & Publisher (emphasis added throughout):
The Audit Bureau of Circulations released circulation numbers for more than 700 daily newspapers this morning for the six-month period ending September 2007. Of the top 25 papers in daily circulation (see chart, separate story), only four showed gains.
All together now - awwwwww.
For your entertainment pleasure, here were some of the declining dinosaur totals:
For The New York Times, daily circulation fell 4.51% to 1,037,828 and Sunday plunged 7.59% to 1,500,394, at least partly due to a price increase.
Daily circulation at The Washington Post was down 3.2% to 635,087 and Sunday was down 3.9% to 894,428.
Daily circulation at The Boston Globe tumbled 6.6% to 360,695 and Sunday fell about the same, 6.5% to 548,906.
Total readership numbers are likely even worse:
Of course, the trend points to fewer people reading the paper too as single-copy sales, considered a barometer of the industry, is decreasing at larger rates than the overall top line number -- somewhere in the ballpark of 5%.
Maybe these outlets should stop reporting the future extinction of species due to global warming and start worrying about their own.
For those interested, here's the complete listing.
Editor at Large
Comments Policy
Trend setter
November 5, 2007 - 10:44 ET by mattmI stopped getting my paper in 1988.
What's taken everyone so long?
Never had one.
November 5, 2007 - 10:45 ET by taterOh yeah well only my parents purchased a paper and I didn't read much of it when I lived at home...since I've been on my own I've never had a paper. The only good use for them is kindling for bonfires.
Not the only one
November 5, 2007 - 11:21 ET by ForeverOnTheRightTater, you and I have never subscribed to the local paper. Kindling for bonfires is one of the best uses next to lining the bird cage. It's kind of an metaphorical commentary on their content and accuracy in reporting the news.
tater
November 5, 2007 - 11:30 ET by Six String SpiffNot so tater.
I have found numerous uses for them.
Bird,cat,dog,squirrel, iguana, mouse, guinea pig, etc. cage liners.
Oh, and hamsters like to make nests out of them.
I should be loved by libs for all of the recycling ideas I just presented!
Oh, I almost forgot:
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!!
Islamic Religious Services Will Be Held at the Firing Range At 0800 Daily.
I guess I should say
November 5, 2007 - 11:35 ET by tater...the only good use I have for them. I don't own any animals. But then the libs would hate me as I'm adding more "gases" to the atmosphere.
I start our fires with the
November 5, 2007 - 14:15 ET by bigtimerI start our fires with the one we get here locally....and we get that only because my husband doesn't like the computer.
These papers seem to not give a fig one way or the other for their decline..they keep the leftist agenda going anyway...no matter who they hurt while doing so...especially our military efforts and the WOT.
The underground
November 5, 2007 - 10:48 ET by JDWNo longer is unbiased an issue. Journalistic standards demonstrated in the likes of 'Betray Us' are rooted in an activist coalition with the .org brotherhood. The publications are no longer concerned with stock value let alone circulation numbers, maybe they are now controlled by the underground .org's.
JDW
Sen Clinton: Distinguished Founder of Media Matters
When I lived in Seattle,
November 5, 2007 - 10:52 ET by candanceWhen I lived in Seattle, their Times paper kept calling on the phone and begging me to subscribe. I eventually caved and took on a six-month commitment. For six months, I had the pleasure of kicking it out of my driveway when I left to go to work, and putting it in the trash every night. When my commitment was over, I refused to sign up for any more.
card holding member of the vast right-wing conspiracy
mattm
November 5, 2007 - 10:58 ET by SeptemberWhat's taken everyone so long?
Indeed. I gave up a couple of years ago. I'd never realized how liberally leaning it was until I got away from it for a while. And that little "go green" sign in the corner is just too much greenness for me considering the AGW hysteria and ecochondria that passes for reasonable environmentalism.
I confess however to grabbing up the Sunday comics if I see it at a friend's house.
Not Worth the Paper It's Printed On
November 5, 2007 - 11:30 ET by MentalrushI used to read USA Today sometimes, mostly for sports and politics. (They actually published a letter to the editor from me four times - I managed to piss of a lot of people). The final straw for me was the one-two combo of raising the price to 75 cents and adding Michael Moore as a 'journalist' to cover the republican convention.
Sure. That was about as serious and objective as having al-Jazeera reporting on Passover in Jerusalem.
“It isn’t that liberals are ignorant, it’s just that they know so much that isn’t so” – Ronald Reagan
Long Island
November 5, 2007 - 12:22 ET by iveseenitallI lived in Long Island, New York. Thirty years ago the Newsday called, wondering why I hadn't subscribed. I said "Jimmy Breslin", and hung up. Left-wing, communist/socialist B.S. has been a mainstay of news reporting forever. But I never thought I'd live to see the day it would catch up to them. Now it has. By, by Newsday, NYT, The Boston Globe, et.al. So long to the Pravdas of the northeast. Hoooraaaay!
P.S. A few years ago, Newsday was caught cooking the books, lying about its circulation numbers. Nice try, Newsday, but the truth is the truth is the truth---you're through.
NEVER,NEVER trust a "liberal"
It was gratifying to see
November 5, 2007 - 13:10 ET by dscottIt was gratifying to see the Atlanta Journal Constitution down 9% for both weekday and Sunday, they are getting their just desserts. The LAT actually managed to get a +0.5% increase, they must have been running some kind of specials during that 6 month period, you know those get the weekdays free if you reup for the Sunday paper deals for 8 weeks. But I am disappointed to see the New York Post down 5% on both. :-(
Hanlon's Razor: Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity. dscott's corollary: The line between malice and stupidity is called depraved indifference.
Must be Bush's Fault
November 5, 2007 - 13:53 ET by kwWhy is everyone citing the liberal doom and gloom news that people are starting to refuse to read and not dealing with the real issue and cause...it is Bush's fault. How? I don't know, but seeing how everything is Bush's fault, he and his cronies from Halliburton must be in on this one as well!
Newspapers in Landfills
November 5, 2007 - 13:58 ET by kwBy the way...the biggest contributors to landfills are (1) construction debris and (2) PAPER PRODUCTS. Including no doubt all those extra copies they print out that don't get sold so they can add to their circulation numbers so they can lie to their advertisers!!!!!
Nevermind the global warming, environmentalist concerns of their own product. Pay no attentiuon to the man behind the curtain, it's big oil who you are really after!
You really need to tell the
November 5, 2007 - 14:39 ET by nathaniaYou really need to tell the whole story here. Because some people might argue that the offline subscriptions are falling but online traffic is increasing.
Alexa will show that Washington Post and NYT traffic has decreased, while Boston Globe has remained relatively steady.
Compete shows that WaPo has a slight increase with NYT and BG remaining steady overall.
Both Alexa and Compete are unable to be totally accurate. Only the companies and their analytics programs know for sure what kind of traffic they're attracting.
Unfortunately, you can't attribute subscription losses solely to liberal reporting.
Too bad the newspaper
November 6, 2007 - 02:29 ET by lnthompToo bad the newspaper writers didn't go on strike along with the Hollywierd writers.
Lee T.
U.S. Navy (ret.) / Vancouver, Washington
The history of the race, and each individual's experience, are thick with evidence that a truth is not hard to kill and that a lie told well is immortal.-- Mark Twain