[churchillbuff]

The Washington Post was clearly the highest-profile circulation loser, dropping 23,814 copies, or 3% of its circulation, to 772,553. The San Francisco Chronicle failed to hold on to the big gains it rolled up while the rival San Francisco Examiner was floundering under the former ownership of the feckless Fang family. The Chron was off 2.6% to 501,135.

[boxsmith13]

No one wants to read a leftist rag, that is why circulation is falling

[2banana]

Similarly, the Post managed nearly double-digit growth -- up 9% to 678,012 -- that reflects its single-copy price of a quarter, compared to 50 cents for the competing tabloid Daily News.

Even though the slightly right of center post is racking up huge growth stats, the leftist editors of America's newspapers would rather go out of business than change their ways...

[Malesherbes]

This business is as dead as the proverbial dodo. Electronic news is faster and more comprehensive. Newsprint is expensive and will get more expensive. Personally, I'll not miss any of these liberal fishwrappers.

[rocky88]

"The Wall Street Journal posted an extraordinary circulation gain because it added to its total several hundred thousand online subscribers who were not counted a year ago. The FAS-FAX indicates that the Journal's total circulation, which jumped 15.4% to 2,101,017, includes 336,813 online subscriptions that count as paid circulation under ABC rules. That's about 56,000 more than the year-to-year gain of 280,417. Similarly, the Post managed nearly double-digit growth -- up 9% to 678,012 -- that reflects its single-copy price of a quarter, compared to 50 cents for the competing tabloid Daily News." I guess the masses are waking up to the fact that liberal media bias really does exist (although we've known this for years, it is just now starting to filter down, thanks mainly to Bernie Goldberg hitting the mainstream with his tome.) Go WSJ & Post!!! "The Washington Post was clearly the highest-profile circulation loser, dropping 23,814 copies...." and it will keep going south and it won't be pretty........

[The Ghost of FReepers Past]

Boohoo. This is self-inflicted. If they were not such rigid leftist ideologues, they might appeal to a broader audience.

[Congressman Billybob]

Clicked to the link and read the whole article. Noted that Editor & Publisher correctly noted that two newspapers, the Wall Street Journal and the New York Post accounted for almost all of what little gains in circulation existed.

Then the article seeks to denigrate the gains at these two newspapers by saying that the WSJ's gain was due to its inclusion of "paid subscriptions to its website." And it says that the growth at the Post was due to its holding its cost per issue to "25 cents, unlike its main competition which charges 50 cents per issue."

Unlike Editor & Publisher, I note that these two newspapers are on the conservative side of the political spectrum. Maybe, just maybe, these two newspapers gained in circulation for the same reason that Fow News is eating the lunch of other networks, they PUBLISH more of the truth, and less of the usual Dem/lib trash and twaddle.

Nah, that couldn't be the explanation, could it? [End sarcasm.]

Congressman Billybob

Latest column, "Honesty Problems with Kerry and Gorelick: Pin the Truth on the Democrat."

[Vinnie_Vidi_Vici]

Probably due to the reduction in fresh fish being sold, thereby obviating the need for these papers with no other redeeming value.

[beckett]

Um...I think perhaps in some remote way a little thing called the internet might play a role in the decline of hardcopy newspapers. Don't quote me.

[ampat]

Yep they are going the way of air america, just taking longer.

[Faraday]

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (known affectionately as The Urinal) has lost 4.9% of its daily circulation in the last year (current circulation ~ 245,000). The paper ascribes this precipitous drop to the ending of special rates and conscious shrinkage in rural area distribution. This is whistling past the graveyard. The internet provides people with the information that only a daily paper use to convey. And growing numbers of people can no longer stomach the socialist slant given the other options available.

[Arrowhead1952]

There is no bias in the media. Fair and balanced reporting.
There is no bias in the media. Fair and balanced reporting.
There is no bias in the media. Fair and balanced reporting.
There is no bias in the media. Fair and balanced reporting.
There is no bias in the media. Fair and balanced reporting.
There is no bias in the media. Fair and balanced reporting.
There is no bias in the media. Fair and balanced reporting.
There is no bias in the media. Fair and balanced reporting.
There is no bias in the media. Fair and balanced reporting.
There is no bias in the media. Fair and balanced reporting.
There is no bias in the media. Fair and balanced reporting.
There is no bias in the media. Fair and balanced reporting.
There is no bias in the media. Fair and balanced reporting.

</ sarcasm>

[PogySailor]

I finally gave up the Tampa Tribune this year. It had devolved into not much more than a redistribution outlet for AP, Reuters and NYT stories. The worthwhile local content had gotten very sparse.

[BluH2o]

Our local paper, a large Midwest newspaper, aggressively tries to keep the circulation number up. For some period of time we took only the weekend paper, meaning Friday, Saturday and Sunday home delivery. Then a promotion offered full week delivery for the same price as weekend. We signed on for the trial period (one month as I recall) when the period was up they started billing at the weekly rate. I called circulation and requested the weekend delivery again, stating that delivery Monday thru Thursday wasn't really necessary (often the paper goes unread during the week). Circulation responded by saying they would continue to charge the weekend rate if I continued with weekly delivery, which I agreed to. That's where it stands now ... well over a year later.

[an amused spectator]

Media Schadenfreude ping - May's Schade From Editor & Publisher

On, Off, or grab it for a Media Shenanigans/Schadenfreude/PNMCH ping:
http://www.freerepublic.com/~anamusedspectator/

[gundog]

WAAAAAHH! Why not eliminate the "news" and just give the people what they want...a free fish-wrapper with money-saving ads included.

[GOPJ]

Publishers need to grow backbones.

Liberal editors are running newspapers as personal liberal ego trips, not as a business. They compete for prizes not customers. It's time to switch incentives before these in-house rags are down to 8 readers and 12 prizes.

If half of a newspapers readers are conservatives, they need to be given a seat at the table. If they can't have a seat at the table, quit expecting them to pay for the meal.