• by Erik Sass , May 6, 2011

While most big newspaper publishers are reporting declines in circulation revenues, there's one notable exception: The Wall Street Journal, where publisher Les Hinton trumpeted an 8% increase in circulation revenue in the first quarter of 2011.

Remarkably, that makes it the 17th straight quarter of year-over-year circulation revenue growth for the newspaper -- almost certainly a unique achievement in the beleaguered U.S. newspaper business.

Over the last three quarters of Dow Jones' fiscal year (which began in July 2010) total revenue increased 5%, according to Hinton, reflecting the growth in circulation revenues, as well as a 7% increase in print ad revenue -- another stand-out achievement in an industry generally beset by ad revenue declines.

In the third quarter, WSJ's total ad revenue grew 2.6%, making it the sixth consecutive quarter of growth. Total digital ad revenue increased 19% during the last three quarters, while digital circulation revenue increased 22%, reflecting continuing growth for WSJ's digital subscriptions.

By way of comparison, Gannett Co. saw total revenues sink 3.7% in the first quarter, reflecting a 7.3% decline in publishing ad revenues and a 3.9% drop in circulation revenues. The New York Times Co. saw total revenues fall 3.6%, reflecting a 4.4% drop in total ad revenues and a 3.7% decline in circ revenues, while McClatchy saw total revenues sink 9.5%, enduring an 11% drop in ad revenues and a 5% decline in circulation.

For the newspaper business as a whole, total circulation revenues have declined steadily since the early part of the last decade, dropping from a peak of $11.2 billion in 2003 to $10.1 billion in 2009 -- the last year for which figures were reported by the Newspaper Association of America.

Total ad revenues, including print and digital, have sunk from $49.4 billion in 2005 to $25.8 billion in 2010.