Are newspapers faring better than gloomy statistics suggest?

October 30, 2009

Average weekday circulation at 379 daily newspapers may have fallen a reported 10.6 percent for the six months that ended Sept. 30 from the same period last year, but print publications aren’t doing as badly as the numbers might suggest, Slate columnist Daniel Gross writes.

During the recent deep recession consumers have cut back on all sorts of expenditures, he argues. And papers haven’t been the only news medium to suffer: Many political blogs and cable news shows have seen their audiences shrink by much more than 10 percent since the fall of 2008, and advertising at some online publications has slid by a similar amount during the same period, Gross writes.

For the last few years, newspapers have responded to sharp declines in advertising revenues by slashing costs and charging more for their product. The New York Times and many other papers have raised their newsstand and home-delivery prices — a move bound to alienate some customers. But if raising subscription costs by 11 percent causes 10 percent of customers to flee, a newspaper’s circulation revenue stabilizes while it saves money by printing fewer copies.

While The New York Times’ daily circulation fell a reported 7.3 percent in the last six months, and its Sunday circulation was down 2.7 percent, the company reported that its third-quarter circulation revenues rose 6.7 percent, thanks to the higher prices.  As Gross writes, millions of Americans still pay to have newspapers and magazines delivered to their homes — a trick that most online publications have yet to pull off.  — Greg Beaubien
 

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