NEW YORK — Average weekday circulation at U.S. newspapers fell 2.6 percent during the six month-period ending in September in the latest sign of trouble in the newspaper business, an industry group reported Monday.
Sunday circulation also fell 3.1 percent at newspapers reporting to the Audit Bureau of Circulations, according to an analysis of the data by the Newspaper Association of America.
The declines from the same period a year ago show an acceleration of a yearslong trend of falling circulation at daily newspapers as more people, especially young adults, turn to the Internet for news and as newspapers cut back on less profitable circulation.
In the previous six-month reporting period ending in March, weekday circulation fell 1.9 percent at U.S. daily newspapers and Sunday circulation fell 2.5 percent. By comparison, a year ago newspapers reported an 0.9 percent decline in weekday circulation and a 1.5 percent fall on Sundays.
Circulation at the country's three largest newspapers was relatively stable in the most recent reporting period, but many others showed significant declines. Gannett Co.'s USA Today, the largest-selling daily, slipped 0.6 percent from the same period a year ago to 2,296,335; The Wall Street Journal, published by Dow Jones & Co., fell 1.1 percent to 2,083,660; and The New York Times rose 0.5 percent to 1,126,190. Of the rest of the top 20 newspapers reporting, all but one, the Star-Ledger of Newark, N.J., posted declines generally ranging between 1 percent and 8 percent.
The San Francisco Chronicle, published by Hearst Corp., posted a 16.4 percent tumble in circulation as the newspaper slashed less profitable, heavily discounted and giveaway circulation subsidized by advertisers.
Circulation has been steadily declining at newspapers for several years as readers look to other media for news. Tougher rules on telemarketing have also hurt newspapers' ability to sign up new readers.
Newspapers also face sluggish growth in advertising, higher newsprint prices and increasing concern among investors about newspaper growth prospects. The second-largest newspaper publisher in the country, Knight Ridder Inc., is facing a revolt from two of its top shareholders, who want the company to be sold.
John Murray, the vice president in charge of circulation at the NAA, said on a conference call with reporters that despite the continued slippage in overall paid circulation, newspapers were retaining subscribers longer.
That can save newspapers money over time as costs fall for replacing subscribers who don't renew. Newspaper executives also say advertisers are increasingly looking for "quality" circulation, meaning copies that aren't sold at a discount or given away for free to people who might be less interested in actually reading the paper than someone who signed up and is paying full price.