U.S. newspaper circulation declines worsen

By Robert MacMillan

NEW YORK (Reuters) - If there's one thing that the U.S. public is not giving newspapers, it's their support.

Paid weekday newspaper circulation in the six-month period that ended March 31 fell 7 percent to 34.4 million, compared with the same period last year, according to new figures released by the Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC).

That decline, which tracked 395 daily newspapers that had five-day-a-week circulation in both periods, accelerated from last year's decline of 3.6 percent.

Sunday circulation at 557 papers fell more than 5 percent to 42.1 million. Last year, circulation fell 4.6 percent.

The declines may seem small, but the numbers tell a troubling story about the state of American newspapers.

Paid circulation has been trickling downward for several years, according to ABC figures.

While readership is up thanks to people sharing copies of their printed editions and readers on the Internet, advertisers continue to rely on paid circulation figures to determine what they want to pay to newspaper publishers to advertise.

As circulation continues to fall, more advertisers grow disenchanted with newspapers and seek other ways to get their message across to potential customers.