Newspaper circulation down 10.6 percent

updated 7:43 p.m. ET Oct. 26, 2009

NEW YORK - Circulation at newspapers shrank at an accelerated pace in the past six months, driven in part by stiff price increases imposed by publishers scrambling to offset rapidly eroding advertising sales.

Average daily circulation at 379 U.S. newspapers plunged 10.6 percent in the April-September period from the same six-month stretch last year, according to figures released Monday by the Audit Bureau of Circulations.

It's the largest drop recorded so far during the past decade's steady decline in paid readership — a span that has coincided with an explosion of online news sources that don't charge readers for access. Many newspapers also have been reducing delivery to far-flung locales and increasing prices to get more money out of their remaining sales.

The latest decline outstripped a 7.1 percent decrease in the October 2008-March 2009 period and a 4.6 percent decline in last year's April-September window.

As both publications indicated earlier in the month, The Wall Street Journal surpassed USA Today as the top-selling newspaper in the United States. The Journal's average Monday-Friday circulation edged up 0.6 percent to 2.02 million — making it the only daily newspaper in the top 25 to see an increase.

USA Today suffered the worst erosion in its 27-year history, dropping more than 17 percent to 1.90 million. The newspaper, owned by Gannett Co., has blamed reductions in travel for much of the circulation shortfall, because many of its single-copy sales come in airports and hotels.

The New York Times stayed in third place at 927,851, down 7.3 percent from the same period of 2008. Its Sunday edition remained the top weekend seller at 1.4 million, a decrease of 2.6 percent.

Sunday circulation at all the newspapers covered in the ABC survey fell 7.5 percent in the latest six-month span.

The circulation numbers are just the latest sign of distress in the shrinking newspaper industry.

Newspapers are trying to recover from a steep drop in advertising revenue — traditionally their main source of money. The worst U.S. recession since World War II and the lure of the Internet have combined to make the industry's annual ad revenue $20 billion less than it was three years ago.

To compensate, many of the nation's largest publishers are raising the subscription rates and newsstand prices for their print editions.

Some newspapers also are planning to charge for access to at least some sections of their Web sites. Besides bringing in more revenue, the online fees could cause more people to keep subscribing to the print editions if fewer stories are available for free on the Web. But it would also threaten to shrink their online audiences, making it more difficult to sell the Internet ads that are gradually replacing some forms of marketing in print.

Although higher prices for print editions alienate some readers, enough of them are footing the bill to funnel more money to newspapers.

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