Paper’s sales post 5% increase

U.S. circulation decline slows

— The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette’s weekday sales for the six-month period ending Sept. 30 rose about 5 percent, in contrast to daily newspapers across the country, whose circulation on average fell about 5 percent, according to the Audit Bureau of Circulations.

The Democrat-Gazette ranked 38th in Sunday circulation among 553 dailies, and 45th in average weekday circulation. Little Rock, the paper’s largest market, ranks 77th among metropolitan areas in the country.

“We are pleased to show a circulation gain given what the numbers for the rest of the industry look like,” said Nat Lea, vice president and general manager of the Democrat-Gazette’s Little Rock-based editions, which are circulated in 63 of the state’s 75 counties.

U.S. newspapers’ circulation declines are slowing, the audit bureau’s report indicated.

Nationwide, weekday circulation fell 5 percent on average for the 635 daily newspapers reporting. For 553 newspapers reporting Sunday averages, circulation fell 4.5 percent.

Circulation nationally fell 8.7 percent on weekdays and 6.5 percent on Sundays for the six months ending March 31 compared to the year-earlier period.

Average weekday circulation at the Democrat-Gazette rose 4.8 percent to 177,633 from 169,458. Saturday circulation rose 5.8 percent to 178,235 from 168,499, and Sunday circulation rose to 259,866, up 0.7 percent from 258,160 in the year earlier period.

Paid online subscribers are included in the bureau’s totals for all papers.

Publications use circulation numbers to market themselves to advertisers, newspapers’ primary revenue source.

A “big part” of the paper’s circulation growth stems from a joint venture by Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Inc. and Stephens Media in Northwest Arkansas that began last fall, Lea said.

Gains from the partnership weren’t reflected in last year’s numbers for the period ending in September.

Lea said he couldn’t provide a breakdown of the newspaper’s most-recent circulation figures - with and without the joint venture - because the company hasn’t yet filed a publisher’s statement to the bureau.

Lea noted the Democrat-Gazette’s Monday through Saturday growth of 3.1 percent in the past decade, while almost all major newspapers in the South have sustained double-digit declines in that time frame.

For the six-month period ending Sept. 30, USA Today’s Monday through Friday circulation was 1,830,594, down 3.7 percent from 1,900,116 a year earlier

The Wall Street Journal’s daily circulation in the most recent six-month period rose 1.8 percent to 2,061,142 on weekdays, from 2,024,269. Weekend circulation was 1,839,029, down 3.5 percent from 1,906,548.

The New York Times’ Monday through Friday circulation fell 5.5 percent to 876,638 from 927,851. Sunday circulation dropped 3.4 percent to 1,352,358 from 1,400,302.

In Memphis, The Commercial Appeal’s weekday circulation was 121,684, down from 142,165. Sunday circulation was 151,146, down from 172,112.

In Atlanta, weekday circulation for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution was 181,504, down from 211,420. Sunday circulation was 384,110, down from 405,551.

The Dallas Morning News’ weekday circulation was 264,459, up from 263,810. Sunday circulation was 373,815, down from 390,523.

John F. Sturm, president and CEO of the Arlington, Va.-based Newspaper Association of America, said in a release that the report is “in line with expectations as newspaper publishers sharpen their focus on growing audience and driving revenue across a range” of media including print, online and delivery on mobile phones or other devices.

“The bottom line: Newspapers - in all their forms - continue to reach a substantial majority of adult consumers each week, a fact that carries more weight than just print units sold in today’s digital environment,” Sturm said.

He cited a report from comScore, a marketing research firm based in Reston, Va., that found that newspaper companies’ websites reached almost two-thirds of all adult Internet users in September.

The 5 percent decline “is a lot better” than a decline of 11 percent, which was how much daily circulation dropped at U.S. newspapers a year ago, said Rick Edmonds, media business analyst at The Poynter Institute in St. Petersburg, Fla., a journalism think tank.

One factor perhaps influencing slowing print declines, he said, is the trend of more newspapers adopting strategies such as charging for online content or withholding some stories that appear in print from a newspaper’s online edition.

“I think those sorts of defensive measures may be helping some,” Edmonds said.

Circulation at three of four newspapers in Arkansas reporting to the Audit Bureau of Circulation fell for the six months ending Sept. 30 compared with the year earlier period.

Circulation at The El Dorado News-Times, which like the Democrat-Gazette is owned by WEHCO Media, Inc., fell to 14,002 on Sundays, from 14,671 a year earlier. Monday through Saturday circulation fell to 9,371 from 9,901 a year earlier.

In Hot Springs, The Sentinel-Record, another WEHCO paper, had circulation of 17,585 on Sundays, down from 18,510 a year earlier. Monday through Saturday circulation fell to 16,626 from 17,138 a year earlier.

The Baxter Bulletin, a Monday through Saturday paper owned by Gannett Co. in Mountain Home, saw its circulation fall to 9,368 from 9,967.

Stephens Media did not report circulation figures for the Pine Bluff Commercial and the Southwest Times Record in Fort Smith.

Business, Pages 23 on 10/26/2010

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