Newspaper circulation falls 2.6 percent: study (Reuters)

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. newspaper circulation fell 2.6percent as of the end of March, according to data released onMonday, the latest evidence that readers are defecting to theInternet and other media outlets.

A Newspaper Association of America analysis of semiannualdata from the Audit Bureau of Circulations on 770 dailynewspapers found that average daily circulation fell to about45.4 million readers, compared with about 46.6 million in thesame six-month period ended March 31 a year ago.

Sunday circulation at 610 newspapers fell 3.1 percent to48.5 million.

The Audit Bureau of Circulations counts 882 U.S. dailynewspapers among its members. More than 85 percent of themreported their figures for the latest report.

Circulation rose 0.5 percent for the New York Times'weekday and Sunday editions. USA Today, Gannett Co. Inc.'sflagship paper, was up 0.1 percent to about 2.27 million.

More typical for the industry was a 1 percent drop reportedby Dow Jones & Co. Inc.'s flagship paper, the Wall StreetJournal.

Newspaper companies have been fighting weak printadvertising revenue growth and falling profits as more peopleuse the Internet and other media to get their news.

Many companies have launched online editions of theirpapers, some of them updating news throughout the day, to keeptheir hold on audiences and compete with Web sites like thoseof Yahoo Inc. (Nasdaq: - ) and Google Inc. which gather news from multiplesources.

But newspaper Internet advertising sales have not offsetthe weakness seen in their print publications.

Still, the online newspaper audience is rising, theNewspaper Association said. Newspaper Web sites averaged about56 million readers, or 37 percent of all online users, duringthe first quarter of 2006, according to research firmNielsen//NetRatings. That is an 8 percent increase over thesame period a year ago, the association said.

The Washington Post's daily and Sunday circulation figureswere off about 4 percent. The Los Angeles Times' dailycirculation fell more than 5 percent, while Sunday circulationwas down nearly 2 percent.

Circulation also fell at newspapers that McClatchy Co. isbuying from Knight Ridder Inc. and selling to other companies.

The San Jose Mercury News, which McClatchy plans to sell toMediaNews Group Inc., saw circulation fall almost 8 percent forits daily edition and almost 5 percent on Sundays. ThePhiladelphia Inquirer's daily and Sunday circulation figuresfell more than 5 percent while the Daily News was off more than9 percent.

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