Newspaper Circulation Off 10%

USA Today , WSJ only big names to buck accelerating downward trend

(NEWSER) - Newspaper circulation contracted the past six months as competition from Internet sources and cutbacks in advertising decreased sales, Bloomberg reports. Circulation dropped 3.6% for the industry as a whole, with only USA Today and the Wall Street Journal enjoying slightly increased circulation among the 25 largest papers. "The decline is certainly worse than in the past few years,'' one analyst said. More»

9% of workers cut as focus switches from print

(NEWSER) - USA Today will be laying off 9% of its 1,500 workers in what execs describe as a radical overhaul. The 28-year-old paper, struggling with falling circulation and advertising sales, plans to focus less on its print edition and more on producing content for the Internet and mobile devices, AP reports. More»

(NEWSER) - The newspaper industry is about to crown a new circulation king. Figures out later this month will show that the weekday circulation of USA Today has dropped 17% from last year to 1.88 million. Once that news surfaced, Rupert Murdoch's Wall Street Journal declared itself the new No. 1. Its latest numbers aren't out, but the newspaper reported a circulation of about 2 million last year. More»

Corporate interests, internet advertising crippling industry

(NEWSER) - The media's troubles mean that "this country is in trouble," writes Dan Rather, and no academic study or think-tank report is going to save the industry. We need no less than a “nonpartisan, blue-ribbon” presidential commission “to address the perilous state of America’s news media,” and make recommendations as to how to fix it, he suggests in a Washington Post op-ed. More»

Handout would violate journos' watchdog role

(NEWSER) - With the industry in dire straits, some in the journalism business want government help—but they’re not looking for a financial bailout, Reuters reports. “That is so clearly contrary to what our role is as a watchdog that it’s just not acceptable,” said a former newspaper editor. What publishers want are legal concessions: changes to antitrust laws, tax breaks, perhaps the ability to become non-profits. More»