Yesterday, The New York Times ceased publication of A Nation Challenged, its stand alone section on the war in Afghanistan, which ran every day since Sept. 18.
The section, noteworthy for its
detailed coverage and its short obituary portraits of nearly 2,000 victims, helped boost circulation of the Times. Daily newsstand circ was up 37% in September, with Sunday sales up 15%. Circulation
continued at a high level after September but levelled off, according to Times spokeswoman Catherine Mathis, who says precise figures beyond September aren't available. She is unsure how the cessation
of A Nation Challenged will affect circulation.
Though circulation spiked after the terrorists attacked, advertising revenue plummeted. The Times latest figures, released last month, cite a
17% drop for November, compared with November 2000 for the New York Times group of papers, which includes The Boston Globe, the Worcester Telegram & Gazette and 15 other papers. Ad revenue for the
Times dropped 21% in November.
Group revenue for November was $157.4 million, compared with $190.2 million last year. Year to date revenue through November was $1.7 billion, versus $2.0
billion last year.
The company reported softness in national advertising catagories, including technology, entertainment, banking, financial services and transportation. Classified
advertising also dropped, especially help wanted. There were also dips in retail advertising, including mass market chain stores, fashion/jewelry and home furnishings.
Mathis attributes the
drops to the dot.com burst, the slow economy and Sept. 11, but also to the huge gains in every quarter of 2000 which were hard to sustain. She says online advertising jumped the most in 2000, but
doesn't have specific figures on it.
The paper reverts to the standard configuration, with coverage of Afghanistan relegated to other sections. In the event of another major news development,
the stand alone section can be reinstated, Mathis says.