by Gareth
4/30/2008 11:15:00 AM
A report by the ABC states that weekly circulations for 534 daily US newspapers has fallen by 3.6% for the six months ended March 31st.
An article in the Wall Street Journal reports the figures along with commentary from the publications spokespeople on some of logistical reasons why, (dropping free Sunday issues to week day subscribers etc), but doesn't go on to draw conclusions or speculate on other factors that might be driving the issue in the US and elsewhere.
Back here in the UK...I'm a 31 year old, busy, professional, male and a geek; I'm also in the media analysis business. You'd expect that I subscribe to a stack of papers in order to keep abreast with general news trends and the odd bit of client news. But I don't subscribe to any, and rarely if ever pick one up...though I do admit to a bit of over the shoulder reading in the subway. Might it be me and those like me that are causing a drop in print circulation?
I do of course read the news, lot's of it, but I get my news by RSS, on my phone, through my email software, through Google reader or by visiting an online publication directly. So as we look at the fall of print press circs, we should look to the rise of online readership and RSS subscription as important factors in considering the impact of a media outlet.
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