Recent reading – broad circ declines continue
By paulgillin | November 8, 2007 - 9:30 am - Posted in Fake News, Paywalls

‘NYT’ Introduces Comments on Web Stories — But Worries About It – Editor & Publisher, Nov. 4, 2007

“Quietly, without promoting the move, The New York Times began this week publishing on its Web site readers’ comments at the end of certain articles. This is a move The Washington Post and USA Today, and many other newspapers, began long ago.”

[The decision to add moderation to comments adds costs to the revenue-strapped Times, but the Old Gray Lady isn’t yet ready to let go. Says Times‘ Public Editor Clark Hoyt, ““How does the august Times, which has long stood for dignified authority, come to terms with the fractious, democratic culture of the Internet, where readers expect to participate but sometimes do so in coarse, bullying and misinformed ways? The answer so far is cautiously, carefully and with uneven success.” – Ed.]

Spokesman-Review cuts two editions, will print just once a day – Fading to Black

[This newspaper continues to document its troubles on its own blogs, demonstrating admirable transparency. – Ed.]

MediaNews Goal: Triple Web Revenue By 2012 – paidContent.org, Oct. 21, 2007

“Dean Singleton has put his MediaNews Group on notice. The chairman and CEO of the Denver-based newspaper company told his staff in a company-wide memo (posted as a text file at LAObserved.com) from himself and other senior execs that he expects online sales to triple by 2012, 50 percent of operating cash flow to come from online compared with 22 percent now, and promised acquisitions with other newspaper companies.”

[Here’s a publisher who gets it. And he’s set a tangible, achievable goal that his people can strive for. Most publishers are just saying they need to “increase” online revenue contributions. Leaders know that clear objectives are more motivating than mushy statements of direction. – Ed.]

First FAS-FAX Numbers: Many Top Papers Take Big Hits – Editor & Publisher, Nov. 5, 2007


“Of the top 25 papers in daily circulation (see chart, separate story), only four showed gains.

“According to an analysis of ABC figures, for 538 daily U.S. newspapers, circulation declined 2.5% to 40,689,617. For 609 papers that filed on Sunday, overall circulation dropped 3.5% to 46,771,486.

“For the past several years, publishers, particularly those at major metros, have been whittling back on circulation considered to be less useful by advertisers. Those papers fall into the category of other paid, which includes hotel, Newspapers in Education, employee, and third party copies.
“Of course, the trend points to fewer people reading the paper too as single-copy sales, considered a barometer of the industry, is decreasing at larger rates than the overall top line number — somewhere in the ballpark of 5%.”

[Santa Barbara News-Press appears to be especially hard hit. – Ed.]

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