Newspaper Circulation Figures Bring Good News for The SP Times, Bad News for Many More

First, the good news: The St. Petersburg Times was one of just two newspapers in the nation's top 25 daily papers to see a circulation increase on Sundays, up .44 percent to to 432,779 from 430,893. (the other paper to rise, over 1 percent, was the St. Louis Post Dispatch).

Now, the bad news: Many more papers saw steep declines in the figures released by the Audit Bureau of Circulation Monday for newspaper subscriptions in the period ending March 31. The New York Times, for example, was down 9.2 percent Sundays (to 1.4-million) and 3.8 percent daily to 1-million, according to the trade magazine Editor and Publisher.

The Washington Post, New York Post, Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle and Boston Globe all lost circulation in daily and Sunday subscriptions. Among the top 25 newspapers, just two gained daily circulation, both at the top of the list: USA Today rose .27 percent to 2.28-million and Rupert Murdoch's evolving Wall Street Journal -- which covers business less than it used to, according one analysis -- rose .35 percent to 2.069-million, according to E&P.

In Florida, the Tampa Tribune is down nearly 15,000 on Sundays, to 283,784 and down 6,468 daily to 220,522. The SP Times is also down a bit daily, dipping 6,764 to 316,007. The Orlando Sentinel gained a bit daily, up 739 to 227,593, but fell Sundays by 3,660 to 332,030.

The Miami Herald once again saw some of the biggest declines, falling 31,000 to 311,245 on Sundays and down 31,969 to 240,223 subscriptions daily. Bad news for the Sarasota Herald-Tribune as well, which fell 8,457 on Sundays to 125,644 and 3,424 daily to 114,904.

While Florida's newspaper industry continues to struggle with cratering advertising revenues, it can't help to see subscriptions dipping like this in a state with so many older, traditional newspaper readers at hand.

Comments

[Johnson]

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