On the same day it launched its “Greater New York” edition, The Wall Street Journal Monday topped the list of the nation’s largest-circulation daily newspapers. The Journal was the only daily among the 25 largest newspapers to gain circulation in the six-month period ended March 31.

USA Today recorded a decrease of 13.58% as it fell below the two million mark to 1,826,622. The San Jose Mercury News exploded into the top 10 list by incorporating the Oakland Tribune and Contra Costa Times as edition of the Mercury News.

1. The Wall Street Journal 2,092,523 +0.5%
2. USA Today 1,826,622 -13.58%
3. New York Times 951,063 -8.47%
4. Los Angeles Times 616,606 -14.74%
5. Washington Post 578,482 -13.06%
6. New York Daily News 535,059 -11.25%
7. New York Post 525,004 -5.94%
8. San Jose Mercury News* 516,701 N/A
(1/1/10 To 3/31/2010)
9. Chicago Tribune 452,145 -9.79%
10. Houston Chronicle 366,578 -13.77%
11. Philadelphia Inquirer** 356,189 N/A

Amazing how this keeps going and going.




  1. bobbo, can investigative reporting shift to the blogoshpere? says:

    I think not. Some little bit, but not nearly enough. The 20th Cent saw news supported by consumer advertising. The model has already greatly changed and will continue along the curve established.

    Interesting then that the WSJ did not have consumer advertising. Brokerage Houses perhaps but not kitty litter.

    I still line my hamster cage and degrease bacon with the news. Thankfully, my next door neighbor gives me her paper. I wonder if that is a copyright violation?

  2. Dallas says:

    Over the last few years, distributing news on dead trees had much to with being far lower power, higher resolution and more portable than laptops.

    Tablets closing the above gap, multimedia need (video) and younger generation comfortable with screens may be the real beginning of the end for newsprint.

    Still, it will be around for a long time for the elderly and most republicans.

  3. boolez says:

    Well, WSJ is the only paper who is doing actual reporting as well as charging for content. Still, newspapers are in a state of steady decline that will sadly only stop once the feds take control of them.

  4. Sam says:

    #2, Dallas said “Still, it will be around for a long time for the elderly and most republicans.”

    Are you saying Republicans are obstinate to change? To quote Abe Simpson, “My car gets forty rods to the hogshead and that’s the way I likes it!”

  5. Rabble Rouser says:

    Quite amusing how the only the newspaper owned by Ruppert (Arrgh Matey) Murdock is the one making a profit.

    I suppose the next bit of news we will get is that the only TV broadcast news that has a rise in viewership is Fockx.

  6. Norman Speight says:

    Not of course due to opinionated (so called) journalists and former readers becoming bored by re-hash stories filling acres of newsprint at high prices is it?
    The television news has become similarly boring, what with ‘personalities’ on hugely overblown wages giving it large on items that are of little interest to the public.
    We used to have reporters. Great. told us what was going on without the psuedo ‘professionalism’ of journalists – none of whom keep a journal – do they? Indeed bloggers are closer to journalists than the paper scribblers, most of whom are certainly not worth their money. Newspaper are not going out of business because they are dinosaurs, more it is the case that they are being murdered by failure to understand their audience.
    Television news likewise. Presenters, these days, look more like models for some product or other what with their bouffant hair, suits fresh off the hanger and Hollywood make up – and that’s only the blokes. I’ve seen blow-up dolls with more personality than the women. What the hell do you want ‘personality for anyway? They are only reading off a prompter. My grandkids can do that and they aren’t yet old enough to work.
    Give us some humans please and, by the way, the current crop simply ain’t worth their wages. Ask anyone in the street.
    Newspapers are dying because they deserve to. It’s nature’s way. Mutant communicators should leave the gene pool – starting with anyone called Murdoch.

  7. Lou says:

    Nothing ever stays the same. Get over it.

  8. Floyd says:

    New Mexico used to have two real newspapers. One actually received a Pullitzer Prize for an expose’ on the government injecting plutonium into people without their knowledge, starting right after the end of WWII. The one with the Pulitzer went out of business a few years later.

    The other is still in business, but mostly prints news from the Associated Press and local crime news. I don’t think actual news is why people buy papers any more.

  9. qb says:

    The WSJ circulation includes over 400,000 online subscriptions. That’s one more reason they are staying relevant.

  10. jccalhoun says:

    I wonder how many people that subscribe to the Wall Street Journal actually read it? I know a lot of business schools tell their students to subscribe to it because when I drive through parts of town with college students living there I see unread WSJ issues piled up on their porches.

  11. Mextli says:

    #4 Sam “Are you saying Republicans are obstinate to change?”

    No I think he is just wishing Democrats could read or the WSJ had a page 3 girl.

  12. Dallas says:

    #4 No, I’m saying most Republicans are generally conservative and by definition are less apt to accept change.

    Nothing wrong with that.

  13. Hmeyers says:

    #13 is right

    We are on track to becoming a royal kingdom with 2 or 3 corporations in league with the government ruling over us.

  14. aslightlycrankygeek says:

    While the newspapers’ decline is largely a factor of technology, I believe there is more to it.

    The market is saturated with AP stories and liberal opinion on the internet and TV already. It is supply and demand. No one is going to pay for what you can get free online unless it is more convenient. For some people, a newspaper is more convenient and until e-book readers are more widespread, cheaper, and more mature, the newspapers have a shot at surviving. But if they just regurgitate the same basic data you could find a day earlier on twitter, and the same tired opinion (liberal in most cases, conservative in smaller towns) every other paper and website has, they do not offer any added value. They need to take what little they are still making and pay for a small staff of real journalists. Anyone can summarize facts already known. Not anyone can go find new information.

    I think this trend may in the end be good for newspapers. Papers that are not willing to invest in real journalism will die. In the end, there will be fewer papers but at least they may be worth reading. Some day, they will probably all be distributed digitally, but that alone will not save them unless they have already changed their content.

  15. aslightlycrankygeek says:

    One point I forgot – contrast the WSJ with a traditional newspaper. It does offer added value because it does contain new information in many cases, and convenience compared to looking up all of the financial stories separately online.

    Also, obviously people are more willing to pay for it if they think it can help them earn money, but I doubt if this is as big of a factor as you might think. The people I know who subscribe to it are interested in financial news – I really doubt if they think it is helping them make money they would not have otherwise made.

    Finally, when it comes to opinion, the WSJ is unique. It is generally considered conservative, but is not like other conservative opinion you will read. It is sometimes liberal on social issues, usually grounded in facts, and always unapologetic.

    The other newspapers should learn something from the WSJ, even though they have no hope at doing as well as them.

  16. Greg Allen says:

    >> aslightlycrankygeek said,
    >> The market is saturated with AP stories and liberal opinion on the internet and TV already

    If you honestly think the media are liberal, you’ve been totally brainwashed.

  17. Greg Allen says:

    It was an incredible mistake for newspapers to give away their on-line content for free.

    But the iPad, eReaders and smart phones give some glimmer of hope with the possibility of subscriptions.

    But subscriptions have to be cheap… or, better yet, “free” when bundled with other services, sort of like basic cable.

  18. Uncle Patso says:

    I am reminded of a scene from my favorite sci fi tv show of all time, Babylon 5:

    Ambassador Kosh (looking around the space station): “I shall miss this, when it is gone.”

    Station Security Chief Garibaldi: “Man, I really hate it when he does that!”

    – – – – –

    I will really miss newspapers when they are gone.

  19. MikeN says:

    Writing good articles gets readers. Maybe the New York Times should try that again.

    The Philly newspapers reported on how they are being bought out with stories from the AP.

  20. aslightlycrankygeek says:

    #18 Greg Allen,

    “If you honestly think the media are liberal, you’ve been totally brainwashed.”

    You use the term brainwashed very lightly. The closest thing to brainwashing in this situation is what happens in the liberal arts departments at the universities that those in the media attend. Even though you can’t see the bias, I don’t consider you brainwashed. You either can’t separate your opinions from reality, or you are so far left of center that mainstream liberal looks conservative to you.

    Give this a read:
    http://www.polsci.ucsb.edu/faculty/glasgow/mediabias.pdf
    Let me know if you have any other research papers which contradict this.

  21. Since liberals enjoy releasing secret documents as news that threatens America’s national security and gets innocent people killed; how would they like news story about one of Obama’s secret memos that shows American people what Obama’s real plans are for America?

    Answer continue reading:

    Texas Drifter Obama’s Coup D’etat Memo
    Posted by Marshall’s Law on Thursday, July 29, 2010 2:56:55 PM
    Entry # 168

    Marshall’s Law Townhall Dateline – Texas Drifter just had recent nightmare about Obama’s confidants circulating a coup d’etat strategy memorandum. The unpleasant nightmare started with Texas Drifter seeing himself in some unknown government office photographing second page of Obama’s coup d’etat strategy memo.

    (Second page started with “Obama’s Current Assets”.)

    I. Obama’s Current Assets:

    # Currently control House of Representatives and will probably lose control in November elections. Options:
    1. Accept loss use “lame duck” session with Senate to enslave and destroy America’s Republic with Marxist- fascist legislation signed by Obama.
    2. Steal election: first, using racist thugs protected by Attorney General and Justice Department to deter voter participation. Second, voter fraud by Democrat Party social activist groups who will be backed up by Democrat Party appointed judges (reference recent success of Clinton nominated federal judge in Arizona self defense from illegal immigrants case).
    3. Post pone November elections by creating international incident or allowing “man made disaster” by Islamic fascists terrorists; then suspend habeas corpus citing Lincoln’s actions in Civil War; then declare martial law not Marshall’s Law; activate Obama’s CMRF (Consequence Management Response Force) to jail some Obama critics in FEMA Detention Camps, and murder other “dissidents” while trying to “escape”.

    # Currently control U.S. Senate will probably not lose control in November elections. Spend all resources necessary running commercials protecting Democrat Party and Moderate Republican Party senatorial candidates from conservative Republican and conserative Democrat candidates by branding “all conservatives” as racists. Main stream news media like CBS, NBC, ABC, PBS, CNN and other Obama propagandist networks will run stories verifying liberal political ads. Senate must be protected to use “lame duck” session with House to enslave and destroy America’s republic with Marxist- fascist legislation signed by Obama.

    # Use Democrat nominated federal judges to back any of Obama and Congress’s legislation no matter how unconstitutional by “cherry picking” activist liberal presiding judges (remember Arizona case). One problem with Democrat Party judicial assets, U.S. Supreme Court. Current make up of Court is five (5) conservatives and four (4) liberal activist judges. Obama’s legacy could by strengthen if one or more of conservatives had an “accident”, be disabled by unexplainable emergency medical problem, or was involved in “unfortunate” incident. This would allow Obama to install new deciding fifth vote during 2010 “lame duck” session. This good fortune for Obama’s legacy is lowest profile, least complicated, highest return for invested assets of all asset categories.

    (Texas Drifter glancing thought, if one single gnat messes on one, or comes close to messing on any one of majority five; Leninist Democrats deserve serious lesson in payback with compound interest).

    II. Obama’s Allies:
    Leninist Democrats; Obama’s Administration; many government bureaucrats; public subsidy addicts; main stream news media; Hollywood liberal elites; some anti American aristocrats; illegal immigrants; Hispanic street gangs; Black racist organizations and hate groups; United Nations; many third world countries like Mexico, Venezuela, Cuba; and Islamic terror nations; Islamic Fascist terrorists; some Moderate Republicans; and others in America last crowd.

    III. Strategy Target Dates:
    Depending on tactic selected for deployment – September 2010 through January 2011.

    IV. Recent Successes:
    1. Blaming all Obama and Democrat Party distracters and critics as racists.
    2. Using Democrat appointed judges to rule for our utopia not constitutional integrity.
    3. Converting major American private sector industries to our Marxist utopian assets.
    4. Slow response to oil spill with EPA regulations and bureaucrats which created propaganda justifiying destroying America’s private sector energy industry. Plus bonus of eliminating millions of upper middle class jobs in all those red states.
    5. Eliminating Freedom Of Information (FOI) statues from SEC.
    6. Alienating America’s economic and military allies; plus bonus of putting Israel’s national security at perhaps it greatest risks.
    7. Greater successes will follow in January 2011 with destruction of America’s health care industry and estimated on-sixth of American economy. Death of America should follow shortly with increasing taxes that make mortgage industry problems seem like “good old days”.
    8. Other successes will be identified later.

    V. Recommendations:

    Coup D’etat is ahead of schedule, who knows; we might be able to put America’s Judeo-Christian Constitutional Republic out of our misery by end of January 2011. Only a few scenarios could occur which turn our approaching victory into failure.

    If success is denied, will not be first or probably last time we have to re-group and start over. What is one more another attempt to establish history’s best utopia for our political elite; while letting commoners do what they do best – root like stupid promiscuous proletariat swine they always have been and always will be. What could go wrong, why be negative when things are going so well?

    (Left nightmare – Back to reality)

    Suddenly Texas Drifter was distracted from his nightmare about Obama’s Coup D’etat Memo. How, by barely audible tapping on door of Texas Drifter’s fifth wheel “Free Spirit” trailer.

    Got to find out who is visiting between midnight and sunrise, will explain later. Maybe.


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