As it had warned, circulation for USA Today suffered a steep drop, in part a reflection of the slump in the hotel and airline industries, which distribute most of that paper’s copies. USA Today, printed only on weekdays, fell from almost 2.3 million to 1.9 million, a 17.1 percent drop, losing the top spot in weekday circulation for the first time since the 1990s to The Wall Street Journal.
The Journal’s circulation, at just over 2 million, rose 0.6 percent. It is one of a very few papers to sell online subscriptions, which are counted in the circulation total, helping The Journal defy the industry-wide decline for several years.
Weekday circulation for 379 U.S. dailies dropped 10.6%, based on a cumulative average for the six months ended Sept. 30 compared to a year earlier. It was the sharpest falloff in more than a decade.
Downward Trend
Average Daily Circulation at U.S. Newspapers*
Wall Street Journal
2,024,269
0.61%
USA Today
1,900,116
-17.15%
New York Times
927,851
-7.28%
Los Angeles Times
657,467
-11.05%
Washington Post
582,844
-6.40
N.Y. Daily News
544,167
-13.98%
N.Y. Post
508,042
-18.77%
Chicago Tribune
465,892
-9.72%
Houston Chronicle
384,419
-14.24%
Philadelphia Inquirer
361,480
N.A.
*Preliminary figures Source: Audit Bureau of Circulations
The figures were released Monday by a publishing industry group, the Audit Bureau of Circulations, and reflect figures from many, though not all, U.S. newspapers. Nearly two-thirds of the country's 25 largest papers posted declines of 10% or more.
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