Declining circulation

The Wall Street Journal takes a look at the newspaper industry's declining circulation. There are some good numbers to know in there:

Daily circulation of American newspapers peaked in 1984 and had fallen nearly 13% to 55.2 million copies in 2003, according to the Newspaper Association of America. At the same time, advertising revenue -- adjusted for inflation -- has barely budged. In 1985, newspaper advertising, adjusted for inflation, was $43.04 billion, not much less than the $44.94 billion reported in 2003. That's just 4.4% real growth over 18 years. During that same period, the gross domestic product, measured in current dollars, grew 161%.

Also, there's a good discussion about the quality of circulation. The subscriber, who pays to read the paper, is much more valuable to advertisers than the hotel guest who gets a paper at his door whether he reads it or not. Makes sense.

Good stuff to sink your teeth into.