Florida Newspaper Circulation Continues Decline

Published: Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Florida Newspaper Circulation Continues Decline
By Kevin Bouffard THE LEDGER - LAKELAND

Newspapers across Florida and the nation can only hope the latest circulation figures mean its multi-year circulation slump is coming in for a soft landing. Newspaper circulation in Florida and nationwide has continued to decline, but at a slower rate than earlier, according to the most recent report released Monday from the Audit Bureau of Circulations, a publishing industry group.

All but six of 29 daily Florida newspapers surveyed showed declines in average daily circulation, the report said.The Ledger's average weekday circulation for the six months ending March 31 declined 10.6 percent to 65,948 issues, down from 73,736 a year earlier. That was the fourth biggest circulation loss among the 29 newspapers.

The Ledger's average Sunday circulation fared better, but still fell 6.3 percent to 83,860, down from 89,487 for the same period ending March 31, 2007. That was the fifth biggest circulation loss among Florida newspapers.''Without question the environment for general interest massmedia products remains challenging,'' Jerome Ferson, publisher of The Ledger, said in an e-mail. ''

However noise exists in these recent numbers that reflect tactical changes in the way we are approaching the market."

Ferson said beyond The Ledger's paid circulation numbers, when taken together, the company's other products, such as The Reporter edition in Northeast Polk, Business Journal, Vision Latina, Polk Voice, News Chief, theledger.com and a suite of other digital products provide nearly total penetration of the Polk County audience.

The News Chief in Winter Haven had an unaudited circulation of 8,550 for the same period, estimated Publisher Nelson Kirkland, who had no comparable figure for a year ago.The News Chief, which The Ledger purchased in March, was not an Audit Bureau member but will join later this year, Kirkland said. It should appear in the October-March report next year.

But overall declines in the most recent six-month period were less than those in the previous Audit Bureau report from the six-month period ending Sept. 30.Florida's largest newspapers performed the best in the most recent circulation report.

The Orlando Sentinel showed a 0.3 percent gain to an average weekday circulation of 227,593 newspapers. The state's largest newspaper, the St. Petersburg Times, had a circulation loss of just 2.1 percent to 316,007 newspapers while its crosstown rival, the Tampa Tribune, fell 2.8 percent to 220,522.

The Miami Herald had an 11.7 percent daily circulation decline to 240,223 editions as of March 31. Its Spanish-language edition, El Nuevo Herald, declined 1.3 percent to 79,963 daily.

Among other newspapers in The New York Times Regional Media Group, which owns The Ledger, the Sarasota Herald-Tribune had an average weekday circulation of 114,904 newspapers, down 2.9 percent from a year earlier;

the Ocala Star-Banner fell 12.1 percent to 45,424 daily newspapers; and the Gainesville Sun dropped to 44,658, down 13.3 percent.

Once again, Florida's fastest growing newspaper was the Daily Sun, which serves The Villages, a rapidly growing retirement community in Sumter County between Ocala and Leesburg. Its average daily circulation grew 7.5 percent to 35,808 issues.

The only other significant gain statewide was at the Citrus County Chronicle based in Crystal River, up 4.7 percent to 29,594 newspapers.Sunday circulation at Florida newspapers suffered less steep declines in general.

None suffered double-digit declines, although the Miami Herald came close - down 9.1 percent of 311,245 newspapers.

Only eight of 29 Florida's Sunday newspapers surveyed showed circulation drops of more than 5 percent.

Seven state newspapers showed circulation gains and another, the Bradenton Herald, remained flat at 54,210 issues.Among the gainers were the St. Petersburg Times, up 0.4 percent to 432,779 Sunday editions; the Daily Sun up 7.6 percent to 36,610; and the St. Augustine Record at 19,581 papers, up 3.5 percent.Florida Today in Melbourne had average Sunday circulation of 93,604, while the Pensacola News Journal sold 68,962 Sunday papers, both down 7 percent.

Outside Florida, circulation fell at most leading U.S. newspapers except for the two largest national dailies, USA Today and The Wall Street Journal, which saw gains of less than 1 percent.USA Today remained the largest U.S. newspaper with an average daily circulation of nearly 2.3 million, up 0.3 percent, and The Wall Street Journal rose 0.4 percent to almost 2.1 million. Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. bought the Journal's parent company Dow Jones & Co. last December.The New York Times remained the third largest national newspaper, but its circulation fell 3.9 percent to almost 1.1 million weekday copies for the six months to March 31.

[ Kevin Bouffard can be reached at kevin.bouffard@theledger.com or at 863-802-7591. ]