Change at the Top in Daily Newspaper Circulation Wars

By Paul Ausick Updated Apr 27, 6:42PM EDT · Published Apr 30, 12:00PM EDT

This post may contain links from our sponsors and affiliates, and Flywheel Publishing may receive compensation for actions taken through them.

newspapers

As of last September, the daily newspaper with the highest average circulation was The Wall Street Journal, with a combined print and digital circulation of 2.29 million. USA Today claimed 1.71 million and The New York Times registered 1.61 million. Six months later, the NY Times has passed USA Today, claiming 1.87 million circulation at the end of March, compared with 1.67 million at USA Today.

The WSJ, which is owned by News Corp. (NASDAQ: NWSA), continues to lead in total circulation with 2.38 million, up 12.3% in the 12 months. The NY Times, owned by The New York Times Co. (NYSE: NYT), saw circulation rise 17.6% since March of 2012. USA Today, owned by Gannett Co. Inc. (NYSE: GCI), experienced a circulation drop of 7.9% year-over-year.

About 62% of the WSJ’s circulation comes from its print edition, while the NY Times print edition accounts for just under 40% of the paper’s total circulation. USA Today’s print circulation accounts for 85% of its total circulation.

The Alliance for Audited Media (AAM), which collects and reports this data, noted that for 593 daily newspapers included in its count, total daily circulation fell by 0.7%. For 519 Sunday newspapers, total circulation fell 1.4%.

Digital newspaper editions now account for 19.3% of all daily circulation, compared with 14.2% 12 months ago. Branded editions, which AAM defines as “newspaper-owned products such as commuter, community, alternative-language or Sunday-Select type newspapers” account for 5.1% of all circulation, up from 4.5% a year ago.

What the AAM does not report on is advertising pages, which is where print editions have lost traction for years. Digital subscribers typically pay less than print subscribers and print advertising rates shrink as subscribers jump ship to the digital versions.

The AAM Snapshot report for March is available here.

Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.

DISCLOSURE:

Customer must fund their Active Invest account with at least $50 within 45 days of opening the account. Receive a minimum of $15. Probability of member receiving $3,000 is a probability of 0.026% If you don’t make a selection in 45 days, you’ll no longer qualify for the promo. Percentages for the $3,000 are subject to decrease. See full terms and conditions.

INVESTMENTS ARE NOT FDIC INSURED • ARE NOT BANK GUARANTEED • MAY LOSE VALUE Brokerage and Active investing products offered through SoFi Securities LLC, member FINRA(www.finra.org)/SIPC(www.sipc.org). Advisory services are offered by SoFi Wealth LLC, an SEC-registered investment adviser. Information about SoFi Wealth’s advisory operations, services, and fees is set forth in SoFi Wealth’s current Form ADV Part 2 (Brochure), a copy of which is available upon request and at www.adviserinfo.sec.gov. Probability of Member receiving $1,000 is a probability of 0.026%; If you don’t make a selection in 30 days, you’ll no longer qualify for the promo. Customer must fund their account with a minimum of $50.00 to qualify. Other fees, such as exchange fees, may apply. Please view our fee disclosure to view a full listing of fees. Investing in alternative investments and/or strategies may not be suitable for all investors and involves unique risks, including the risk of loss. An investor should consider their individual circumstances and any investment information, such as a prospectus, prior to investing. Interval Funds are illiquid instruments, the ability to trade on your timeline may be restricted. Brokerage and Active investing products offered through SoFi Securities LLC, Member FINRA(www.finra.org) /SIPC(www.sipc.org). There are limitations with fractional shares to consider before investing. During market hours fractional share orders are transmitted immediately in the order received. There may be system delays from receipt of your order until execution and market conditions may adversely impact execution prices. Outside of market hours orders are received on a not held basis and will be aggregated for each security then executed in the morning trade window of the next business day at market open. Share will be delivered at an average price received for executing the securities through a single batched order. Fractional shares may not be transferred to another firm. Fractional shares will be sold when a transfer or closure request is initiated. Please consider that selling securities is a taxable event. Options involve risks, including substantial risk of loss and the possibility an investor may lose the entire investment Before trading options please review the Characteristics and Risks of Standardized Options Investing in an Initial Public Offering (IPO) involves substantial risk, including the risk of loss. Further, there are a variety of risk factors to consider when investing in an IPO, including but not limited to, unproven management, significant debt, and lack of operating history. For a comprehensive discussion of these risks please refer to SoFi Securities’ IPO Risk Disclosure Statement This should not be considered a recommendation to participate in IPOs and investors should carefully read the offering prospectus to determine whether an offering is consistent with their investment objectives, risk tolerance, and financial situation. New offerings generally have high demand and there are a limited number of shares available for distribution to participants. Many customers may not be allocated shares and share allocations may be significantly smaller than the shares requested in the customer’s initial offer (Indication of Interest). For more information on the allocation process please visit IPO Allocation.

Follow 24/7 Wall St. on Google

About the Author Paul Ausick →

Paul Ausick has been writing for 247Wallst.com for more than a decade. He has written extensively on investing in the energy, defense, and technology sectors. In a previous life, he wrote technical documentation and managed a marketing communications group in Silicon Valley.

He has a bachelor's degree in English from the University of Chicago and now lives in Montana, where he fishes for trout in the summer and stays inside during the winter.