• by Joe Mandese  @mp_joemandese, May 4, 2004

A day after an influential investor suggested it's a dying medium, the newspaper industry unveiled results of a semi-annual tracking study showing relatively stable circulation trends. The largest U.S. newspapers recorded modest gains, while circulation for the overall industry was essentially flat over the past six months, according to figures released Monday by the Audit Bureau of Circulations.

Among the largest U.S. papers, all but two (The Washington Post -3.0 percent and Chicago Tribune -1.1 percent) experienced circulation gains, including a whopping 15.4 percent hike to 2,101,017 for The Wall Street Journal.

Gannett's USA Today remained the nation's largest circulation paper, with an average daily circulation of 2,280,761 for the six month period ending March 31. The New York Times ranked third with a modest 0.3 percent gain to 1,133,763.

The big papers were the bright spots. Average daily circulation for the 836 reporting newspapers tracked by the ABC fell 0.1% to 50,827,454 for the six-month period, compared with the year-earlier period. Average Sunday circulation for the 659 newspapers reporting fell 0.9% to 55,075,444.

"Over the last six months, the economic outlook may have changed from week to week, but newspapers remained a constant for advertisers, delivering a steady reader base they have come to value," John Sturm, president-CEO of the Newspaper Association of America said Monday, noting that the industry's efforts to maintain and build newspaper readership, especially among younger and ethnic readers, appears to be paying off. He also noted that "newspapers are multi-media organizations and they are expanding their reach through various channels, including Web sites."

That statement hinted at remarks made Sunday by influential investor Warren Buffett, who told Reuters that long-term prospects for newspapers are beginning to "deteriorate" due to competition from other media - especially the Internet - for advertising budgets. Buffett, whose Berkshire Hathaway owns a The Buffalo News, as well as an 18.1 percent stake in Washington Post Co., had been a big booster of the newspaper medium.