The Pilot's circulation drops 5.8% for weekdays

The Virginian-Pilot suffered far less severe weekday circulation declines than the national average, but it lost a slightly greater share of readers on Sundays, according to a national report released Monday.

The Virginian-Pilot's average Monday-to-Friday circulation from April to September this year totaled 164,454, down 5.8 percent from 174,572 in the same period last year, according to the Audit Bureau of Circulations. The average daily circulation decline for newspapers overall was 10.6 percent.

On Sundays, The Pilot's circulation fell 8.5 percent in that time frame, to 183,378 from 200,456, compared with a national decline of 7.5 percent.

Newspaper sales have been declining since the early 1990s, but the drop has accelerated in recent years as the industry struggles with defections to the Internet and tumbling ad revenue.

At The Pilot, circulation director Mark Quan offered two reasons for the decline:

• The newspaper's decision to eliminate delivery in the Ahoskie, N.C., area and on the Eastern Shore north of Onancock earlier this year, which eliminated the sales of nearly 3,500 copies.
• Since September 2008, an increase of at least 20 percent in subscription rates and a rise in newsstand prices from 50 cents to 75 cents on weekdays and from $1.25 to $2 on Sundays. They were the first increases since 2000, Quan said.

At The Daily Press in Newport News, Sunday circulation fell 7.4 percent, to 90,807 from 98,088. The weekday average dropped 12.5 percent, to 66,211 from 75,681.

The Wall Street Journal surpassed USA Today as the nation's top-selling newspaper, with a weekday circulation of 2.02 million. USA Today was second, at 1.9 million, and The New York Times third, at 927,851.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Philip Walzer, (757) 222-3864, phil.walzer@pilotonline.com

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Circulation numbers for the 25 largest newspapers

By The Associated Press

The top 25 U.S. newspapers by average weekday and Sunday circulation from April through September. The percentage changes are from the same six-month span last year.

1. The Wall Street Journal — 2,024,269 weekday (up 0.6 percent); no Sunday edition.

2. USA Today — 1,900,116 weekday (down 17.2 percent); no Sunday edition.

3. The New York Times — 927,851 weekday (down 7.3 percent); 1,400,302 Sunday (down 2.7 percent).

4. Los Angeles Times — 657,467 weekday (down 11.1 percent); 983,702 Sunday (down 6.8 percent).

5. The Washington Post — 582,844 weekday (down 6.4 percent); 822,208 Sunday (down 5.1 percent).

6. Daily News of New York — 544,167 weekday (down 14 percent); 603,671 Sunday (down 10.5 percent).

7. New York Post — 508,042 weekday (down 18.8 percent); 343,361 Sunday (down 11.1 percent).

8. Chicago Tribune — 465,892 weekday (down 9.7 percent); 803,220 Sunday (down 7.1 percent).

9. Houston Chronicle — 384,419 weekday (down 14.2 percent); 547,387 Sunday (down 6.3 percent).

10. The Philadelphia Inquirer — 361,480 weekday; 499,140 Sunday (down 10.3 percent). The Audit Bureau says the year-ago daily figures are not comparable because the Inquirer's numbers now are combined with those of the Philadelphia Daily News, which the Inquirer now counts as an edition of the same newspaper. The Daily News doesn't have a Sunday edition.

11. Newsday of Long Island, N.Y. — 357,124 weekday (down 5.4 percent); 413,830 Sunday (down 4.6 percent).

12. The Denver Post — 340,949 weekday; 495,485 Sunday (down 9.2 percent). The year-ago weekday numbers are not comparable because subscribers of the now-closed Rocky Mountain News have been transferred to the Post. The News had no Sunday edition.)

13. The Arizona Republic of Phoenix — 316,874 weekday (down 12.3 percent); 458,992 Sunday (down 0.9 percent).

14. Star Tribune of Minneapolis — 304,543 weekday (down 5.5 percent); 477,562 Sunday (down 8.3 percent).

15. Chicago Sun-Times — 275,641 weekday (down 12 percent); 251,260 Sunday (down 1.8 percent).

16. The Plain Dealer of Cleveland — 271,180 weekday (down 11.2 percent); 390,636 Sunday (down 5 percent).

17. Detroit Free Press — 269,729 weekday (down 9.6 percent), 560,188 Sunday (down 7.5 percent).

18. Boston Globe — 264,105 weekday (down 18.5 percent); 418,529 Sunday (down 16.9 percent).

19. The Dallas Morning News — 263,810 weekday (down 22.2 percent); 390,520 Sunday (down 19.3 percent).

20. The Seattle Times — 263,588 weekday; 359,672 Sunday (down 5.9 percent). The year-ago weekday figures are not comparable because the now-closed Seattle Post-Intelligencer's subscriptions were transferred to the Times.

21. San Francisco Chronicle — 251,782 weekday (down 25.8 percent); 306,705 Sunday (down 23 percent).

22. The Oregonian of Portland — 249,163 weekday (down 12.1 percent); 303,412 Sunday (down 12 percent).

23. The Star-Ledger of Newark, N.J. — 246,006 weekday (down 22.2 percent); 371,060 Sunday (down 18.6 percent).

24. The San Diego Union-Tribune — 242,705 weekday (down 10.1 percent); 309,571 Sunday (down 9.6 percent).

25. St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times — 240,147 weekday (down 10.7 percent); 370,050 Sunday (down 5.2 percent).

Source: Audit Bureau of Circulations.