Oregonian Falls Off Top 25 Newspaper List

The Oregonian is no longer ranked among the top 25 U.S. newspapers. The Alliance for Audited Media (AAM) stats for March 31, 2013, do not list the Oregon newspaper that has been a long time member of the top 25.  Last year the Oregonian was number 24 in September and number 21 in March.

I will post current data for the Oregonian when the Oregon newspaper totals come out in the coming week.

AAM reports that in the last year the average drop in newspaper daily circulation was 0.7% and that digital newspaper editions make up almost 1/5th (19.3%) of total circulation.

Daily circulation for the 593 U.S. newspapers reporting comparable averages for the March 2013 and March 2012 periods decreased 0.7 percent. Sunday circulation for the 519 newspapers reporting comparable data was down 1.4 percent.

Newspapers may include digital editions — tablet or smartphone apps, PDF replicas, metered or restricted-access websites, or e-reader editions — in their total circulation. Digital editions now account for 19.3 percent of U.S. daily newspapers’ total average circulation, up from 14.2 percent in March 2012.

 Here are AAM's top 25 newspaper daily and digital numbers:

Average Circulation at the Top 25 U.S. Daily Newspapers
Preliminary figures filed with AAM. Subject to audit.
Newspaper Name	Print	Total Digital	Total Average Circulation Excluding Branded	Total Branded Editions Print & Digital	Total Average Circulation		Percent Change
					As of 03/31/13	As of 03/31/12
WALL STREET JOURNAL	1,480,725	898,102	2,378,827		2,378,827	2,118,315	12.3%
NEW YORK TIMES	731,395	1,133,923	1,865,318		1,865,318	1,586,757	17.6%
USA TODAY	1,424,406	249,900	1,674,306		1,674,306	1,817,446	-7.9%
LOS ANGELES TIMES	432,873	177,720	610,593	43,275	653,868	616,575	6.0%
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS	360,459	155,706	516,165		516,165	579,636	-11.0%
NEW YORK POST	299,950	200,571	500,521		500,521	555,327	-9.9%
WASHINGTON POST	431,149	42,313	473,462	1,305	474,767	507,615	-6.5%
CHICAGO SUN-TIMES	184,801	77,660	262,461	208,087	470,548	421,780	11.6%
DENVER POST	213,830	192,805	406,635	10,041	416,676	401,120	3.9%
CHICAGO TRIBUNE	368,145	46,785	414,930		414,930	414,590	0.1%
DALLAS MORNING NEWS	190,613	65,912	256,525	152,740	409,265	405,349	1.0%
NEWSDAY	265,782	111,962	377,744		377,744	397,973	-5.1%
HOUSTON CHRONICLE	231,233	102,341	333,574	26,677	360,251	346,129	4.1%
ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER	159,411	15,466	174,877	181,288	356,165	280,812	26.8%
NEWARK STAR-LEDGER	180,271	160,507	340,778		340,778	278,940	22.2%
TAMPA BAY TIMES	241,020	17,099	258,119	82,141	340,260	299,497	13.6%
CLEVELAND PLAIN DEALER	216,122	95,483	311,605		311,605	286,405	8.8%
PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER	184,827	67,958	252,785	54,046	306,831	325,289	-5.7%
MINNEAPOLIS STAR TRIBUNE	227,694	73,651	301,345		301,345	300,330	0.3%
ARIZONA REPUBLIC	285,927	7,048	292,975	665	293,640	321,600	-8.7%
HONOLULU STAR-ADVERTISER	125,726	68,993	194,719	73,525	268,244	209,915	27.8%
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL	126,293	15,996	142,289	109,758	252,047	259,247	-2.8%
SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE	192,782	21,569	214,351	36,327	250,678	230,578	8.7%
BOSTON GLOBE	172,048	73,524	245,572		245,572	225,482	8.9%
ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION	149,523	6,704	156,227	74,867	231,094	174,251	32.6%

*This list is based on combined daily average circulation. San Jose Mercury News is no longer included due to reduction in print frequency and elimination of its five-day average, as noted above.

Top 25 U.S. Daily Newspaper Digital Editions
Preliminary figures filed with AAM. Subject to audit.
Newspaper Name	Digital Replica	Digital Nonreplica	Total Digital	Total Average Circulation as of 03/31/13
NEW YORK TIMES	36,456	1,097,467	1,133,923	1,865,318
WALL STREET JOURNAL		898,102	898,102	2,378,827
USA TODAY	121,368	128,532	249,900	1,674,306
NEW YORK POST	1,559	199,012	200,571	500,521
DENVER POST	51,927	140,878	192,805	416,676
LOS ANGELES TIMES	36,802	140,918	177,720	653,868
NEWARK STAR-LEDGER	23,419	137,088	160,507	340,778
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS	26,626	129,080	155,706	516,165
NEWSDAY		111,962	111,962	377,744
HOUSTON CHRONICLE	79,395	22,946	102,341	360,251
LOS ANGELES INVESTORS BUSINESS DAILY	45,288	51,418	96,706	157,161
CLEVELAND PLAIN DEALER	15,424	80,059	95,483	311,605
ST. PAUL PIONEER PRESS	66,499	17,601	84,100	208,280
DETROIT FREE PRESS	81,511	1,786	83,297	209,652
CHICAGO SUN-TIMES	28,798	48,862	77,660	470,548
MINNEAPOLIS STAR TRIBUNE	49,593	24,058	73,651	301,345
BOSTON GLOBE	13,390	60,134	73,524	245,572
HONOLULU STAR-ADVERTISER	16,149	52,844	68,993	268,244
PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER	41,803	26,155	67,958	306,831
DALLAS MORNING NEWS	65,912		65,912	409,265
SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE	33,672	27,698	61,370	218,987
SALT LAKE CITY DESERET NEWS	11,995	44,760	56,755	103,190
RIVERSIDE CO. PRESS-ENTERPRISE	36,556	13,250	49,806	137,581
CHICAGO TRIBUNE	20,541	26,244	46,785	414,930
MIAMI HERALD	42,150	3,949	46,099	147,130

If you wanna win

I compare the following Skip Bayless commentary with Shep Smith's inept put down of Tim Tebow on his afternoon news show. Shep disdainfully asked why wouldn't the Jets get rid of someone who did nothing on the field last year. Maybe Smith missed the 2011 season when Tebow was a starting quarterback and managed a lot more than the Jets in 2012 (with a very part-time, hardly playing, Tebow), and 1 more playoff win than the Broncos, with a great quarterback, in 2012.

Tebow pulled the Broncos out of an awful season opening of 1 win and 4 losses when he took over as starting quarterback in 2011. He took the Broncos 1 game deep into the post-season with a spectacular overtime win in the AFC wild card playoff with Pittsburgh on January 8, 2012.

By contrast, another of my favorites, Payton Manning, in 2012 had a great season, but no win in the playoffs with the Broncos.

Does this mean Tebow is as great as Manning? No. But, it does mean that Tebow has an amazing ability to win under adverse circumstances when he is the starting quarterback. Skip Bayless points out Tebow's ability to win and the fact that a good number of NFL teams with losing records could use a quarterback like that--if they really want to win.

 

11 Heroes Who Died March 21 to April 21, 2013

March 21 - Sgt. 1st Class James F. Grissom, 31, of Hayward, Calif., died at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, Germany, of wounds suffered from small arms fire March 18 in Paktika Province, Afghanistan.

March 22 - Sgt. Tristan M. Wade, 23, of Indianapolis, Ind., died in Qarah Bagh District, Ghazni Province, Afghanistan, when enemy forces attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device.

March 27 - Sgt. Michael C. Cable, 26, of Philpot, Ky., died from injuries sustained when his unit was attacked by enemy forces in Shinwar District, Nangarhar Province, Afghanistan.

March 29 - Chief Warrant Officer Curtis S. Reagan, 43, of Summerville, S.C., died in Kandahar, Afghanistan, from a non-combat related illness.

April 3 - Capt. James Michael Steel, 29, of Tampa, Fla., died in the crash of an F-16 near Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan.

April 6 - They died in Kandahar, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked their unit in Zabul, Afghanistan with a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device. Killed were:
- Staff Sgt. Christopher M. Ward, 24, of Oak Ridge, Tenn.,
- Spc. Wilbel A. Robles-Santa, 25, of Juncos, Puerto Rico, and
- Spc. Delfin M. Santos Jr., 24, of San Jose, Calif

April 19 - They died in Pachir Wa Agam District, Nangarhar province, Afghanistan. Killed were:
- Chief Warrant Officer Matthew P. Ruffner, 34, of Tafford, Pa., and
- Chief Warrant Officer Jarett M. Yoder, 26, of Mohnton, Pa

April 21 - Pfc. Barrett L. Austin, 20, of Easley, S.C., died in Landstuhl, Germany, of injuries sustained when his vehicle was attacked by an enemy improvised explosive device in Wardak Province, Afghanistan, April 17.

Margaret Thatcher (one of the great ones) 1925 - 2013

The legacy of Margaret Thatcher speaks for itself. She took Britain from a time of decline and looming bankruptcy to being a strong, world leader again. She did it by holding firmly to common sense, conservative principles. In National Review, Sarah Palin writes:

She put those beliefs into action. Like Reagan, she was a leader for whom word and deed were one and the same. A leader of a conservative think tank behind the Thatcher revolution famously said, “We were not interested in political office for the Conservative party. We were interested in power for them to get things done.” And that’s exactly what Thatcher did. While others in her party were interested in holding on to political office and overseeing “the orderly management of [Britain’s] decline,” she actually radically reformed a broken system and brought it back to free-market principles, leaving her country stronger, wealthier, and a leader in the world when just a decade before it had been dismissed as “the sick man of Europe.” Her push to privatize British industry and lower tax rates led to a substantial economic expansion and became a model for other countries shrugging off the yoke of socialism.

In the 1980's she and Ronald Reagan were bookends in defending the West and freedom which resulted in the fall of the Soviet Empire.

On a more personal level she saw truth even when it was covered with grit and grime. From Palin's Facebook page:

Oregonian: Not Enough Money to Pay Income Tax, But Plenty for Sales Tax

This weekend Oregonian editors noted that Oregon's liberal arts graduates not only earn less than other college graduates, but earn less in Oregon than liberal arts graduates earn in other states.

The editors declared that this means that Oregon's income tax-based government is bound to be underfunded at the current level. The fix they propose is a strange one. Not to pare down government services to fit the lower income level of Oregon college grads.* Nor to raise income tax rates on the lower earning college grads. The editors somehow feel that though lower paid liberal arts grads won't have enough money to pay more in (progressive tax) income taxes, they will have enough to pay the needed amount in (flat tax) sales taxes.

But those industries alone likely won't be enough to expand the tax base adequately to sate [Oregon's] appetite for government services.
. . .
The solution is not to encourage workers with liberal arts degrees to go elsewhere. Nor is it to suggest they should work harder. If Oregon wants to keep its soul and its budget both in equilibrium, it needs a better tax system -- one that isn't dependent on income that the city probably won't attract without an overhaul of both its image and its priorities.
. . .
But a sales tax goes against Oregon's progressive soul, you say? The evidence keeps mounting that without one the state will lose the ability to feed its soul.

Does this make any sense? If Oregonians aren't gaining enough to pay extra income taxes, where will they get the funds to pay extra sales taxes?

There is a good argument for switching from the graduated income tax to a flat sales tax (as Washington state funds its government). Everyone paying a flat tax rate means everyone has a stake in how government is run and feels an equal monetary pain when government services expand.** Additionally, there is the wonderful simplicity of figuring and paying the tax.

But to say that there is somehow more money available from the same monetary pool just by adding a new tax rather than raising an old tax is at best illusion and at worst deception.

True there are the funds that would be gained from out-of-state visitors, but that it would make little, if any, real difference is shown by the budget shortfalls that both Washington state ($2.7 billion) and Oregon ($1.7 billion) had to deal with in 2012. Washington's sales tax did not shield from budget woes.

A sales tax isn't the answer. It has not settled any state's income problem. It is a diversion from the real issue that needs to be addressed: rising government costs in a time of lower personal and family income. The lack of editorial comment on the real issue shows why the Oregonian continues to decline as a widely used source of news and commentary.
____
*Interesting that cutting government spending is exactly the fix the Oregonian editors suggest for Oregon's public pension deficit.

**Though it doesn't seem to make much of a practical difference in Washington's and Oregon's voting habits.