• by Erik Sass  @eriksass1, May 3, 2011

Daily circulation at most American newspapers declined again between the six-month period ending March 2010 and the six-month period ending March 2011, according to the Audit Bureau of Circulations. A MediaPost analysis of 80 of the largest newspapers in the U.S. showed total daily circulation declining 2.6% from 19 million in 2010 to 18.5 million in 2011.

The magnitude of these declines varied considerably between individual titles, but losses were -- on the whole -- smaller than in previous years. Total daily circulation declined 3.4% at The New York Times, from 951,063 to 916,911; 1.8% at the Los Angeles Times, from 616,604 to 605,243; 4.8% at The Washington Post, from 578,482 to 550,821; 3.3% at the Chicago Tribune, from 452,145 to 437,205; 3.7% at The Seattle Times, from 263,468 to 253,742; 5.7% at The Boston Globe, from 232,432 to 219,214; 6.5% at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, from 209,840 to 196,232; and 6.5% at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, from 196,201 to 183,415.

Not every newspaper reported daily circulation declines, however. Including digital editions, The Wall Street Journal saw average daily circ edge up 1.2% from 2,092,522 to 2,117,796, and USA Today was basically flat with a 0.1% increase from 1,826,622 to 1,829,022.

One of the biggest percentage increases came at the Chicago Sun-Times, which jumped 56% from 268,803 to 419,407 thanks to the inclusion of branded editions under new reporting rules adopted by the ABC. On the hotly contested tabloid front, the New York Post saw daily circ increase 1.2% from 516,554 to 522,874, while its archrival the New York Daily News slipped 1.3% from 537,676 to 530,924.

However, the number of newspapers posting gains in total circulation -- even including digital editions and branded editions under new ABC rules -- remained small, and the overall picture remained one of decline. The new ABC figures seem unlikely to do much for print ad revenues, which have declined precipitously over the last couple of years. According to the Newspaper Association of America, total print ad revenues have fallen 52% from $47.8 billion in 2005 to $22.8 billion in 2010.