L.A. TIMES CIRCULATION DROPS SHARPLY DAILY NEWS SEES SLIGHT INCREASE AS OTHER NEWSPAPERS SUFFER.Byline: Gregory J. Wilcox Staff Writer The Los Angeles Times Los Angeles Times Morning daily newspaper. Established in 1881, it was purchased and incorporated in 1884 by Harrison Gray Otis (1837–1917) under The Times-Mirror Co. (the hyphen was later dropped from the name). suffered its steepest circulation declines in at least 34 years during the last 12 months as daily sales fell 6.5 percent and Sunday's paid readership read·er·ship n. 1. The readers of a publication considered as a group. 2. Chiefly British The office of a reader at a university. plunged 7.9 percent, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. a report released Monday. The Times' losses were far larger than those at newspapers across the country. Meanwhile, the Daily News bucked the national trend and reported a small increase in daily circulation of .09 percent to 178,207 and a slight decline on Sunday of .5 percent to 200,065. Among other area newspapers, the Ventura County Star reported its biggest declines since a consolidation of newspapers to create the Star 10 years ago - down 6.2 percent daily and down 5.2 percent on Sunday. Tracy Rafter, Daily News publisher and chief executive officer, said, ``I'm thrilled thrill v. thrilled, thrill·ing, thrills v.tr. 1. To cause to feel a sudden intense sensation; excite greatly. 2. To give great pleasure to; delight. See Synonyms at enrapture. that the Daily News was one of the few newspapers to buck the national trend. It's a solid testament to the hard work we've put into making our newspaper more relevant to readers.'' The Newspaper Association of America The Newspaper Association of America is a United States trade association that represents the country's largest daily newspapers and provides services including market research, technology education and support, minority hiring and representing publishers in Washington, D.C. , a Vienna, Va.-based industry group, reported that average daily paid circulation declined 1.9 percent in the most recent six-month period for the 814 newspapers reporting comparable data to the Audit Bureau of Circulations The Audit Bureau of Circulations is one of the several organizations of the same name operating in different parts of the world. It audits circulation, readership, and audience information for the magazines, newspapers, and other publications produced by . Average Sunday circulation for the 643 newspapers reporting those figures fell 2.5 percent. The yearly circulation figures are based on reports publishers send to the the Audit Bureau, which conducts audits of the numbers. The periods measured are for the six months ending March 31 of this year compared with last year. Of the nation's 20 largest newspapers, 12 had circulation declines of 1.5 percent or more. The Tribune Co., which owns the Los Angeles Times, suffered steep declines at several newspapers, including the flagship Chicago Tribune Chicago Tribune Daily newspaper published in Chicago. The Tribune is one of the leading U.S. newspapers and long has been the dominant voice of the Midwest. Founded in 1847, it was bought in 1855 by six partners, including Joseph Medill (1823–99), who made the paper , where paid circulation fell 6.6 percent. The Los Angeles Times reported its weekday circulation fell to 907,997 as of March 31, down from 970,802 a year ago. Sunday circulation fell to 1,253,849 from 1,361,442 a year earlier. Regarding the Times' drop, noted newspaper analyst John Morton
John Morton (c. 1420 – September 15, 1500) was an English cleric. said, ``I don't recall ever seeing anything this steep.'' Morton, president of Morton Research, said the drop is the biggest he has seen for the Times since his tracking started in 1971. He also writes a well-followed column in the American Journalism Review The American Journalism Review is a national magazine covering topics in journalism. It is published six times a year by the Philip Merrill College of Journalism at the University of Maryland, College Park. on the newspaper industry. Excluding the effect of a reduction in third-party bulk sales, such as papers purchased by a store for a grand opening, the Times said daily circulation would still have declined 5.2 percent and it would have dropped on Sunday by 4.7 percent. ``These circulation declines are driven by the same issues that impacted our September circulation statement,'' Jeffrey M. Johnson, the paper's executive vice president and general manager, said in a statement. They include the transition to more targeted sales channels from a heavy reliance on telemarketing telemarketing, the practice of selling goods or services to customers by means of the telephone or of surveying consumer preferences in telephone conversations. and the decision to reduce certain types of circulation, such as third-party bulk sales. Morton said that some of the Times' dip could be parent Tribune Co. tightening of circulation practices. That's because there has been a series of circulation scandals in the industry, including at Tribune Co.'s Newsday in Long Island, N.Y. At the Ventura County Star, daily circulation fell to 95,606 subscribers and Sunday to 101,954. ``It's pretty clear there is a migration going on to the Internet,'' said publisher Tim Gallagher Tim Gallagher has been the editor-in-chief of the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology's Living Bird magazine since 1990. He played an instrumental role in the rediscovery of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker, as one of the first three searchers to see and identify this long-missing , as readers opt to stop paying for something they can get for free online. And he decided to cut back on selling heavily discounted subscriptions. Gregory J. Wilcox, (818) 713-3743 greg.wilcox(at)dailynews.com |
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