PressEthic

New figures released on Monday confirmed an anticipated decline by 3% of overall daily circulation throughout the newspaper industry, the steepest loss in recent history. While the results are discouraging, they are not surprising.

Inundated with talk of the predicted demise of print media, industry analysts prepared themselves for the onslaught of negativity and expressed hope for the future, despite the results – noting that if online readers are included, overall readership is growing.

While Dow Jones, owner of the Wall Street Journal, lost 2% in circulation and the New York Times Company lost 4% in overall circulation; smaller, community-focused newspapers are faring much better.

According to Niki Woodard of Project for Excellence in Journalism:

One of the better performing newspaper companies was Lee Enterprises, which owns 53 small local papers. Lee circulation was basically unchanged, down just .2% from a year earlier. That is in keeping with the general pattern that smaller community newspapers focusing on local news have been less susceptible to the circulation problems besetting the larger metro dailies.

As The New York Times fell 3% in circulation, both of New York’s tabloid dailies, The New York Post and the Daily News, reported gains. Humorously and true to form, both papers boasted headlines claiming to be the preferred city newspaper.

The Daily News claimed itself, “The #1 Newspaper in the City,” in a bold headline on its front page on Tuesday. Inside it attacked its rival’s blaring headline: “Thanks New York! Post makes history: beats News.” Despite the drama between the two papers and controversy over the accuracy of circulation figures and aggressive marketing tactics employed by the two tabloids, the successes of the publications remain. The question is, why?

The New York Times discussed the success of the tabloids and the discouraging overall circulation figures in an article on Wednesday.

There is some evidence that readers like a tabloid format, said Stephen Shepard, dean of the Graduate School of Journalism at the City University of New York. The Post and The News are both lively and have natural niche markets.

As the Post and Daily News battle for tabloid supremacy, the real question remains as to why these papers are purporting gains as industry staples are struggling. Is it the discounted price, distribution/marketing methods or salacious content that is bolstering such publications?

Considering the success of online media and "talk news" it seems that the public's appetite for news is not necessarily waning. It may be that newspapers need to adapt to our fast-paced culture, in which few people have an hour to pour over The Times each day, in order to remain a force in coming years.

New York's tabloid dailies may not be the pinnacle of journalism - but they are being read. One should strive to note what such publications may be doing right, in order to help ensure the future of print journalism.