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Newspaper circulation continues to decline fast
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New figures show declines in newspaper circulation are accelerating, as free information becomes more available online. The declines follow a trend in a loss of advertising revenue.
Figures released by the Audit Bureau of Circulations indicate that average daily circulation dropped more than 10-and-a-half percent between April and September, compared to a year ago. The drop during the same period in 2007 was 4.6 percent. Sunday circulation dropped, too, some 7-and-a-half percentage points in the latest six month span.
The drop hurt USA Today the most. It lost more than 17 percent of its readers and, at a circulation of 1.9 million, fell to second place behind The Wall Street Journal. Its average Monday through Friday circulation remained at just over 2 million readers. USA Today blamed its drop on fewer people traveling and buying papers at airports and hotels.
The New York Times has the third highest readership, but its circulation fell more than 7 percent. The circulation bureau compared nearly 380 newspapers across the country.
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