the newspaper business

While the Daily News circulation declines (see previous post) traffic to our online newspaper is growing at a fast clip, up 30% for the month compared to last year.

Walter Hussman, Jr. publisher of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette says this is How to Sink A Newspaper 

Newspapers initially created their Web sites with the best of intentions. After all, newspapers are in the information business. And rather than fight the new medium, the Internet, why not embrace it? Wanting to be the leading information providers and thereby have the most popular Web site in the community, they posted all of their news online for free.

He goes on to make his case by comparing his newspaper’s circulation gains compared to the industry declines. he also explains the economics of the print newspaper and the online newspaper. It’s expensive to run a newsroom, Hussman admits and he’s concerned that more free local news will jeopardize the strength of newspapers.

The newsroom layoffs are most troubling, as less news with less quality, context and details results in more declines in readership and later, declines in advertising. If the $7 billion spent covering news becomes $6 billion, and later $5 billion, it is not just the newspaper industry that gets hurt. Journalism will be diminished in America with less investigative and enterprise reporting; indeed, less reporting of state houses, city halls, school boards, business and sports. Clearly a lot is at stake.

His premise makes for his newspaper, because they never did give away their local news. The Democrat-Gazette has always charged readers to get their local news online.

But they are in a very, very small minority.  The question we are facing now is what do we do now that the horse is out of the barn?

Almost all daily newspapers are audited by an independent agency called the Audit Bureau of Circulation (ABC) Twice yearly they release circulation statements by publishers that conform to ABC accepted practices.

It’s one of those times of the year.

Editor and Publisher is the newspaper business’s oldest and only independent trade magazine and they have summarized the top 25 newspaper’s circulation.

Industry wide, circulation slipped more than 2% daily and 3.1% for Sunday.

The Daiily News circulation for the six months ending March 31, 2007 declined 1.5$% for Monday through Saturday, and 1.9% for Sunday.

The best performance in the state was the Owensboro Messenger Inquirer with an increase of 2.4% daily and .9% Sunday. Henderson was the only other paper in the state showing a gain in both daily and Sunday circulation.