Los Angeles Times,  Media

Los Angeles Times Watch: The Decline in Circulation Continues

Editor and Publisher: Big Metros Show Severe Declines in Latest Circ Report

The Audit Bureau of Circulations FAS-FAX report for the six-month period ending September 2006 released this morning confirmed yet again that major metros are struggling to show growth. The losses are steep while the gains are meager.

This is the fourth consecutive semi-annual report to register a severe drop in daily circulation and — perhaps more troubling to the industry — Sunday copies. While the estimated decline 2.8% for daily circulation for all reporting papers may seem negligible, consider that in years past that decrease averaged around 1%. Sunday, considered the industry’s bread-and-butter, showed even steeper losses, with a decline of about 3.4%.

Big cities like L.A., Miami, and Boston are feeling the effects of the Internet and the trimming of other-paid circulation. In New York, however, a 5.1% surge for the New York Post allowed it to leapfrog past its rival, the Daily News — and The Washington Post — into fifth place in daily circ.

The Los Angeles Times reported that daily circulation fell 8% to 775,766. Sunday dropped 6% to 1,172,005.

The bleeding at Spring Street continues…….

And Flap is SURPRISED how?

Michelle has more.

So, does the Sister.

Previous:

Los Angeles Times Watch: Times Publisher Jeffrey Johnson Forced Out


Technorati Tags:

One Comment

  • Ned Mullen

    RE: Los Angeles Times Circulation Problems

    A Japanese lady staying at our house has received a bill for $26.65 from the LA Times. This young lady has limited English skills and has no interested in reading the Times or having a subscription.

    I suspect that her name was used to pad the Los Angeles Times circulation list and, when there were no payments, her account was sold to Caine & Weiner, a Van Nuys collection agency.

    The young lady we are talking about is a student at Cal State Northridge. I would not be surprised to learn, when all of the facts are in, that the names of thousands of foreign students have been copied from the enrolment lists of various school and appended to the Los Angeles Times circulation lists.

    This is an insidious scam because most foreign students, after receiving a collection notice, would simply send in the money and hope the problem would disappear. The last thing any foreign student would want is trouble that might lead to having to deal with the courts, police and or immigration.

    This is beginning to look like fraud on a large scale. This is beyond padding circulation lists. It has moved on to using the mail to defraud a lot of people.

    Ned Mullen