Circ Decline at DMN Largest in Nation
Just got this e-mail from a shocked Dallas Morning News staffer.
Wow.
That’s because he saw the latest six-month circulation figures, which show the paper down almost 11 percent. It now has a smaller weekday circulation than the Houston Chronicle. Now, part of that is planned, as the paper is trying to focus on getting in the hands of more meaningful (to advertisers) readers, not just more readers. But, you know … still. Full list after the jump.
Total Paid Daily Circulation, Average Monday-Friday
Newspaper Name — As of 03/31/08 — As of 03/31/07 — % Change
USA TODAY: 2,284,219 — 2,278,022 — 0.27%
WALL STREET JOURNAL: 2,069,463 — 2,062,312 — 0.35%
NEW YORK TIMES: 1,077,256 — 1,120,420 - (-3.85%)
LOS ANGELES TIMES: 773,884 — 815,723 — (-5.13%)
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS: 703,137 — 718,173 — (-2.09%)
NEW YORK POST: 702,488 — 724,748 — (-3.07%)
WASHINGTON POST: 673,180 — 698,116 — (-3.57%)
CHICAGO TRIBUNE: 541,663 — 566,827 — (-4.44%)
HOUSTON CHRONICLE: 494,131 — 503,114 — (-1.79%)
ARIZONA REPUBLIC: 413,332 — 433,731 — (-4.70%)
NEWSDAY: 379,613 — 398,231 — (-4.68%)
SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE: 370,345 — 386,564 — (-4.20%)
DALLAS MORNING MORNING NEWS: 368,313 — 411,920 — (-10.59%)
BOSTON GLOBE: 350,605 — 382,503 — (-8.34%)
NEWARK STAR-LEDGER: 345,130 — 372,629 — (-7.38%)
PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER: 334,150 — 352,193 — (-5.12%)
CLEVELAND PLAIN DEALER: 330,280 — 344,705 — (-4.18%)
ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION: 326,907 — 357,399 — (-8.53%)
MINNEAPOLIS STAR TRIBUNE: 321,984 — 345,252 — (-6.74%)
ST. PETERSBURG TIMES: 316,007 — 322,771 — (-2.10%)
CHICAGO SUN-TIMES: 312,274 — N/A — N/A
DETROIT FREE PRESS: 308,944 — 330,242 — (-6.45%)
OREGONIAN: 304,399 — 319,624 — (-4.76%)
SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE: 288,669 — 296,331 — (-2.59%)
SACRAMENTO BEE: 268,755 — 279,032 — (-3.68%)
9 Comments to “Circ Decline at DMN Largest in Nation”
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“…focus on getting in the hands of more meaningful readers, not just more readers…”
Oh baloney. DMN is competing against itself, paid vs. free: hard-copy vs. Quick vs. dallasnews.com. If the Observer did a better job in the hard-copy version of weekly events, or if I could find an online TV Guide worth a flip, I would quit buying the News, the only 2 days I still do, Fri. & Sun. There are simply too many other choices out there, for local, state and national news, to buy the dead tree version. The hard-copy has turned into a losing proposition, not just for them but for all paper publishers; why would Belo have not spun off into different divisions if not for this?
“There are simply too many other choices out there, for local, state and national news, to buy the dead tree version. The hard-copy has turned into a losing proposition, not just for them but for all paper publishers; why would Belo have not spun off into different divisions if not for this?”
Agreed. I only buy the Sunday paper anymore, and that’s mostly for coupons. Pretty much everything that I might read in the hard copy, I can get in a more convenient format on the internet, whether from DMN or other sources.
But actually, I think that the main reason that their circulation is down is that Rod Dreher keeps stealing papers to build up the walls in his newspaper fort, which he uses to keep those scary homosexuals away.
Señor Tex, you could not be more wrong!
It is only Señor Dreher (how his name sings of mildew!) himself who holds the key to saving the DMN from the dustbin of history.
As Rupert Murdoch’s own St. Paul, Señor Dreher will soon make 508 Young Street over as the Vatican of the innovative and many-faced Krunchy Khristianity, so that a copy of the DMN will then be placed in every room in every lodging in the world.
Circulation? ¡Ha!
Emilio
You really can’t judge the decline until you know how the company counts its papers — recently it axed all free subscriptions for retirees, something put in place by G.B. Dealey. Did those cuts count?
They’re just monkeying with numbers — seriously, how can you trust what they say when the authorities have had to look into their circulation figures?
And don’t compare the magazine situation to the newspaper situation. A magazine is a choice, a luxury of enjoyment. A newspaper ought to be a necessity — if it’s living up to its mission of building itself upon the rock of truth…
Expect the circulation (death) spiral to continue. As subscribers are aware, the DMN just shrunk itself again. And as of May 1, for the second consectuive year, circulation rates will be increased.
How many businesses could survive by charging MORE for LESS?
In five years, the print version of the DMN will be gone.
I do not know if it is me, but I think the reason their circulation is down is because the paper no longer reflects the values of the people it purports to serve. In the 60s their Editorial board was to the right of the John Birch Society. Today they make Jim Hightower look like Rick Perry. That extreme partisanship, plus having Phony Conservatives like Senor Dreher only puts them more out of touch.
With respect, Jonathan, “Bullfeathers!”
Most of a newspaper’s circulation base is politically oriented only once or twice a year or at family reunions.
The rest of the time the readers want news and ads with bargains.
News is defined as things that affect the readers, things that make noise in their neighborhoods or things that are interesting or things that they should be warned about (tax increases, new laws, rapists in the neighborhood, epidemics, etc.)
This isn’t rocket science — you simply quit monkeying with your product and go back to producing a newspaper. Rebuild reader confidence — it won’t happen overnight. Patience is the key. Be more like Chance the Gardener and less like a frightened rat in a trap it built itself.
I don’t see the Dallas newspaper listed. Only something called the “DALLAS MORNING MORNING NEWS”.
While there have been some decreases in newspaper circulation not all of it can be called failure or a complete shift away from this traditional medium. In many cases the decreases are genuinely business oriented—things like voluntary circulation cutting to outlying areas because of escalating fuel costs. Diego Vasquez wrote an article (http://www.medialifemagazine.com/artman2/publish/Newspapers_24/Why_papers_are_still_a_good_media_buy.asp) about this based on a Q&A with Rick Edmonds, media business analyst for the Poynter Institute.
There seems to be a lot more to the picture than it seems. The one thing that’s certain is that the only real way to tell what’s going on is through the use of audited circulation statements. Furthermore, though there may be a shift to online media that only reinforces the need for the development of realistic audit processes for that medium. We’ve been working with a group called Buy Safe Media (http://www.buysafemedia.com/) and they’ve got some good info on the value of audited media.