Daily newspaper circulation, an important measure of the health of the $60 billion newspaper industry, is showing signs of stabilizing and in some instances growing, according to figures released Friday by the Schaumburg-based Audit Bureau of Circulations.
Most large metropolitan dailies reported only modest changes in daily and Sunday circulation, suggesting that years of sometimes dramatic circulation drops have ended, at least for now.
In Chicago, the Tribune reported that daily circulation during the six-month period ending March 31 dropped about 1 percent, to 655,522, from 664,587. Sunday circulation also fell about 1 percent, to 1.03 million, from 1.04 million.
The Chicago Sun-Times showed a slight gain in daily circulation, to 494,146, from 491,686. Sunday circulation at the Sun-Times dropped to 431,639, from 438,276, during the same six-month period.
There were a few notable exceptions to the overall trend of small gains and losses. USA Today, the Monday-through-Friday national newspaper, reported a 3 percent boost in circulation, to 1.71 million. The Detroit Free Press, recovering from a damaging strike, saw daily circulation rise more than 4 percent, to 381,599.
And the Los Angeles Times reported a more than 2 percent daily gain, to 1.1 million. The Times circulation gains, analysts note, are influenced by aggressive price-cutting.
The news is heartening to the industry, especially after several years highlighted by newspaper closings and deliberate circulation reductions in an effort to cut distribution costs.
“I think we are very slowly recovering from that period when almost everybody was reporting reduced circulation,” said John Morton, a newspaper analyst and president of Morton Research in Silver Spring, Md. “Part of it is we don’t have very many more newspapers to shut down.”
Morton called the numbers part of “a very, very gradual improvement” that is in keeping with historic trends. “I can see some very modest growth, but it will not keep pace with population growth,” Morton said.
In the Chicago suburbs, the Arlington Heights-based Daily Herald reported daily circulation jumped to 139,576, from 132,369; Sunday circulation increased to 136,392, from 129,969. Those increases were primarily due to the newspaper’s expanding into Geneva, Batavia and St. Charles.
Circulation at the Daily Southtown changed only marginally. Daily circulation for the period was 54,191, down from 55,634, and Sunday circulation was 62,047, down from 63,908.
Copley Newspapers reported large drops for its group of papers in Joliet, Elgin, Waukegan and Aurora, with daily falling to 114,217, from 132,265. Sunday circulation also fell, to 125,808, from 140,908. Bill Todd, Copley’s vice president for circulation, said the drop was due to a shift to morning from afternoon delivery, and changing the papers’ targeted audience.
