• by Erik Sass  @eriksass1, May 1, 2012

While there were some spots of good news here and there, most big newspapers saw their circulations decline again from March 2011-March 2012, according to the latest figures from the Audit Bureau of Circulations. These drops reflect the continuing long-term decline in print circulation -- offset in some cases by growing digital circulation.

First the good news: a number of big and mid-sized newspapers recorded big increases in average daily weekday circulation, due mostly to digital subscriptions sold following the implementation of new online paywalls.

Thus, The New York Times saw average weekday circulation soar 73% from 916,911 in the six-month period ending March 2011 to 1,586,757 in the six-month period ending March 2012. Average weekday circulation at New York’s Daily News grew 9.2% from 530,924 to 579,636, while its archrival, the New York Post, increased 6.2% from 522,875 to 555,327.

New York’s Newsday saw total average weekday circulation jump 33.2% from 298,759 to 397,973. The Newark Star-Ledger saw total average weekday circulation increase 21.7% from 229,253 to 278,940. Elsewhere, the Las Vegas Review-Journal's average weekday circulation jumped 32.8% from 166,183 to 220,619, and the Providence Journal in Rhode Island increased 24.2% from 91,804 to 114,013.

Smaller but still significant increases were seen at the Los Angeles Times, up 1.9% from 605,244 to 616,575; The Boston Globe, up 2.9% from 219,215 to 225,482; the St. Paul Pioneer Press, up 6% from 193,549 to 205,171; and the Houston Chronicle, up 5.3% from 364,837 to 384,007.

Now for the bad news: most other big metropolitan and regional dailies saw their average weekday circulation remain stagnant or decrease. A survey of sizeable newspapers from around the country (not including those listed above) found that average weekday circulation declined at 74 out of 90 from March 2011-March 2012. Total average weekday circ for this group fell 2.5% from 19.8 million to 19.3 million.

Some examples of bigger losses in this group include The Washington Post, which fell 7.8% from 550,821 to 507,615; the Chicago Tribune, down 5.2% from 437,205 to 414,590; The Philadelphia Enquirer, down 5.4% from 343,709 to 325,291; The Baltimore Sun, down 8.2% from 195,561 to 179,574; The Phoenix Republic, down 4.6% from 337,170 to 321,600; The Seattle Times, down 6.6% from 253,740 to 236,929, and The Sacramento Bee, down 6.8% from 210,925 to 196,667.

Similarly, The Cincinnati Enquirer was down 10.8% from 161,647 to 144,165; the Miami Herald, down 7.2% from 173,555 to 160,988; the Tampa Tribune, down 12.2% from 164,568 to 144,510; the Indianapolis Star, down 6.7% from 176,505 to 164,640; the Memphis Commercial Appeal, down 11.6% from 134,561 to 118,978; the Boston Herald, down 12.3% from 123,811 to 108,548; the Charlotte Observer, down 5.8% from 155,497 to 146,511; the Oklahoma City Oklahoman, down 9.5% from 143,806 to 130,177; and the Knoxville News Sentinel, down 17.3% from 98,380 to 81,391.