U.S. daily newspaper readership continues to ebb

Total newspaper circulation with the 20 top U.S. dailies has dropped by about 1.4 million copies in four years, according to an Editor & Publisher analysis of Audit Bureau of Circulations data.

While U.S. population gained 8.5 million in that four-year span, the downward trend in newspaper readership should ring some alarm bells for publishers, editors and investors, declares Grumpy Editor.

Biggest circulation losers among the key dailies were San Francisco Chronicle, with a 28.8 percent drop to 365,234; Los Angeles Times, off 20.2 percent to 794,705 and Boston Globe, down 19.9 percent to 360,695.

However, there were gainers.  New York Post rose 2.3 percent to 667,119 and USA Today increased 2.1 percent to 2,293,137.

The Web is being blamed by many in siphoning news seekers.  But focusing on California may provide a clue.

Despite bargain subscription rates in some cases, the sag in readership may be attributed to the growing number of people in the Golden State who drift to Spanish-language publications --- and broadcast outlets.

Grumpy Editor contends among other contributing factors in fading readership:  less coverage of local happenings, especially with small businesses; more emphasis on crime stories; overabundance of glum news, and cutbacks in stock market listings and allied financial information.