Awwww....

Circulation Plunges at Major Newspapers

Circulation at the nation’s largest newspapers plunged over the last six months, according to figures released today. The decline, one of the steepest on record, adds to the woes of a mature industry beset by layoffs and the possible sale of some of its flagships.

Overall, average daily circulation for 770 newspapers was 2.8 percent lower in the six-month period ending Sept. 30 than in the comparable period last year, the Audit Bureau of Circulations reported. Circulation for 619 Sunday papers fell by 3.4 percent.

But some papers fared much worse. The Los Angeles Times lost 8 percent of its daily circulation, and 6 percent on Sunday. The Boston Globe, owned by The New York Times Company, lost 6.7 percent of its daily circulation and almost 10 percent on Sunday.

The New York Times, one of the few major papers whose circulation held steady over the last few reporting periods, did not emerge unscathed this time: its daily and Sunday circulation each fell 3.5 percent. The Washington Post suffered similar declines.

The Wall Street Journal’s new Weekend Edition, just over a year old, lost 6.7 of its circulation from a year ago.

We will suffer without the Platonic form of newspapers. Matter of fact, we suffer that loss now. How much we will suffer from the loss of the hacks we actually have is less clear. Even less clear is whether said hacks will put two and two together and conclude that their sycophancy has cost them more than relevance, and the way back is to the traditional role of journalists: to aflict the comfortable.

OTOH, If the Dems take Congress, I suspect they will remember that role in a hurry.