Many of Ohio’s major newspapers, including The Cincinnati Enquirer, lost thousands of readers in the past year, but some managed to beat trends and gain in certain categories, according to a circulation audit from the Alliance for Audited Media.
The audit found The Enquirer’s average daily circulation, which excludes Saturday and Sunday, down to 117,754 from 132,076 between September 2012 and September 2013. Sunday circulation fell to 235,515 from 262,876. The numbers represent a 10.8 percent decline in average daily circulation and 10.4 percent on Sundays.
The Akron Beacon Journal and Youngstown Vindicator also saw negative trends, with average daily and Sunday circulation dropping.
Cleveland’s The Plain Dealer lost some of its Sunday circulation, but comparable statistics weren’t available for average daily circulation because the newspaper transitioned from daily delivery to three-times-a-week delivery earlier in the year.
But The Toledo Blade and Dayton Daily News actually increased their average daily and Sunday circulation.
The Columbus Dispatch also upped its average daily circulation, but Sunday circulation fell.
For newspapers, dropping circulation coincides with more readers getting their news from the Internet and alternative sources over the past few years. The alternatives have cost newspapers around the country readers and advertising revenue, and many have responded with cutbacks in staff and overall news coverage.
moved and laid off staff from its Kentucky and West Chester offices
. The layoffs came as parent company Gannett dismissed more than 400 workers around the country, according to estimates fromGannett Blog
.Other media outlets appear to be taking advantage of the new vacancy. The Business Courier reported on Monday that Cox Media’s Journal-News is increasing its presence in Butler and Warren counties to compete with The Enquirer. The move follows Cox Media’s decision to merge its Hamilton and Middletown newspapers into a single entity that covers both cities and counties.
