Less work for paper boys in the US

The Newspaper Association of America, reported that average daily paid circulation declined 1.9 percent in the last 6 months for 814 member newspaper titles (approx 1,700 titles nationwide) and the Audit Bureau of Circulation reported average Sunday circulation for 643 newspapers dropping 2.5 %. . Previous 6 month figures were 0.9% and 1.5%. Some major newspapers saw falls in sales. The Chicago Tribune fell 6.6 percent to 573,744. Hearst Corp.'s San Francisco Chronicle fell 6.1 percent to 468,739.

Some Editors blame the Federal “do-not-call” regulations, effective from the start of the year, playing a major role in decline in circulation. In 2000, telemarketing accounted for 43.4 percent of all new newspaper subscribers, falling to 39.1 percent in 2002 and 30.9 percent last year.

As circulation declines, newspapers have tried to reach a new audience, especially younger readers who are more likely to go online for news and information. They have invested in websites and launched free editions.

Several publishers are also launching Spanish-language editions in an attempt to reach out to growing immigrant communities.

Some in the industry think that newspapers cannot, or will not, adapt fast enough to the migration of readers from print media to the Internet.

Internet search for revenue

Last month Rupert Murdoch, of the media conglomerate News Corp., told a gathering of news executives that newspapers have "sat by and watched" as a new generation of readers gravitated to the Internet for news.

"Unless we awaken to these changes which are quite different than those five or six years ago, we will, as an industry, be relegated to the status of also-rans”.

Trying to catch the advertising dollar, several major newspaper companies have spent heavily to acquire online news / information providers recently. Dow Jones bought MarketWatch Inc., a financial news and information service , for about $500 million in cash, and the New York Times Co. paid $410 million for the well established family oriented About.com.

UK news organisations take note....
Pic Getty