Oregonian Subscription Loss--Steepest Plunge in 3 Years

According to Editor & Publisher the Oregonian lost more than 21,000 daily subscribers in the last 6 months. This is the steepest plunge in 3 years.

From March 2005 to March 2008 total subscription decline was 33,307. From April to September 2008 the Oregonian lost an additional 21,078 subscribers–a 6.9% drop in total subscriptions in only 6 months. In terms of the previous 3 year loss, the current 6 month loss adds a whopping 60% (21,078 compared to 33,307).

Oregonian woes were shared by other high profile newspapers. The New York Times, whose weakened financial condition has caused a drop in credit rating to junk status, lost 76,591 subscriptions in the last 6 months–a 7% decline.

Among the top 25 newspapers only USA Today and The Wall Street Journal showed slight 1 year increases.

In view of the rampant partisanship of the press, it’s no wonder that subscriptions continue to decline. The Pew Research Center found that an astounding 70% of Americans say the press wants Sen. Obama to win the election. Why pay for slanted news? And for the 45% of Americans who favor John McCain, why pay to be insulted?

Newspaper – total subscriptions – increase/decline from 1 year ago
USA Today -- 2,293,310 -- 0.01%
The Wall Street Journal -- 2,011,999 -- 0.01%
New York Times -- 1,000,665 -- (-3.58%)
Los Angeles Times -- 739,147 -- (-5.20%)
Daily News, New York -- 632,595 -- (-7.16%)

New York Post -- 625,421 -- (-6.25%)
The Washington Post -- 622,714 -- (-1.94%)
Chicago Tribune -- 516,032 -- (-7.75%)
Houston Chronicle -- 448,271 -- (-11.66%)
Newsday -- 377,517 -- (-2.58%)

The Arizona Republic -- 361,333 -- (-5.51%)
San Francisco Chronicle -- 339,430 -- (-7.07%)
The Dallas Morning News -- 338,933 -- (-9.28%)
Boston Globe -- 323,983 -- (-10.18%)
Star Tribune, Minneapolis -- 322,360 -- (-4.26%)

Star-Ledger, Newark, N.J. -- 316,280 -- (-10.40%)
Chicago Sun-Times -- 313,176 -- (-3.94%)
Plain Dealer, Cleveland -- 305,529 -- (-8.58%)
The Philadelphia Inquirer -- 300,674 -- (-11.06%)
Detroit Free Press -- 298,243 -- (-6.84%)

The Oregonian -- 283,321 -- (-8.45%)
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution -- 274,999 -- (-13.62%)
San Diego Union-Tribune -- 269,819 -- (-3.00%)
St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times -- 268,935 -- (-6.88%)
The Sacramento Bee -- 253,249 -- (-4.22%)

Hat Tip: Drudge Report