U.S. newspaper circulation plunges 10.6 percent

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N&O slips in print, up online

Circulation for The News & Observer declined, but readership increased when print and online readers were combined, according to the most recent circulation figures.

Overall, 854,213 people either read the paper in the past week or viewed the Web sites www.newsobserver.com and triangle.com in the past month, for the six months ended in March. That was up from 819,531 in the same period a year ago.

The boost of 4.2 percent was enough to rank The News & Observer 24th in the country for overall readership growth, according to the Audit Board of Circulations.

Family sells Durham paper

The Herald-Sun, a locally owned institution in Durham for more than a century, is being sold to an out-of-state newspaper chain.

The paper had been one of the few remaining family-owned newspapers of its size in the country.

Durham's largest newspaper reported in its early editions today that it is being sold by the family of E.T. Rollins Jr., the chairman and retired publisher of the 50,000-circulation daily, to Paxton Media Group of Paducah, Ky. Financial details were not available.

US magazine circulation falls 9 pct at newsstands

Purchases of U.S. magazines at newsstands and other retail outlets fell 9 percent in the second half of 2009, a slight improvement from the 12 percent year-over-year decline in the first half of the year.

Those figures released Monday by the Audit Bureau of Circulations show how the weak economy continues to batter the magazine industry at a time when consumers have plenty of free reading alternatives available online.

Newsstand and other single-copy retail sales are important for publishers because they charge more per copy than they do for subscriptions, which fell 1.1 percent in last year's second half. Magazines generally give a discount to those willing to subscribe in order to boost the overall circulation they can promise advertisers.

Gannett's 4Q improves as cost cuts offset ad woes

Gannett Co. posted its largest profit of the year in the fourth quarter as cost-cutting efforts were aided by a lessening decline in advertising sales. But shares of the biggest U.S. newspaper publisher tumbled after company executives didn't offer any hope for an upturn in newspaper advertising this year.

The report released Monday showed that newspaper and magazine ad revenue plummeted by almost $1.2 billion, or 28 percent, from 2008. Print advertising remains Gannett's biggest source of revenue despite efforts to bring in more money from the Internet and other media.

Fourth-quarter ad revenue at Gannett's publications, which include USA Today and more than 80 other daily newspapers, fell 18 percent, or more than $172 million. That followed year-over-year declines of 32 percent to 34 percent in each of the first three quarters.

Circulation

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The News & Observer has a long history in the market establishing itself as both a local and regional newspaper with delivery throughout central and eastern North Carolina. More than 80% of N&O subscribers live in the four-county greater Triangle area, and approximately 20% reside in 40+ other counties.

Facts: The N&O is the 56th largest newspaper in the nation. 83% of our Monday-Friday circulation is home delivered; 86% of Saturday circulation is home delivered and 79% of Sunday circulation is home delivered.