Ah the continuing perils of my dear, sweet newsprint. The Audit Bureau of Circulations just released their latest newspaper numbers for the six months ending in September 2009 and while somewhat expected, things don’t look so great.
Daily newspaper circulation is down 10.6 percent and Sunday is down over 7. Though the internet is clearly stealing soy ink’s thunder with single-sites reporting page views well into the millions, the print product still reins supreme as old media’s main money maker.
But a bright spot has actually befallen the fashion world’s written word. WWD increased their circulation by 14.31 percent, making the Conde Nast trade the second largest circulation gainer among papers with paid daily circulation over 50,000.
Unfortunately, WWD’s 53,142 paid subscribers pale in comparison to the 1,364,716 souls who follow them on Twitter, the new media behemoth that still currently lacks a revenue generating business model.
Despite the grim statistics, I’m willing to bet a body part that the newspaper industry isn’t anywhere close to its demise, as fear can turn even the stodgiest set-in-their-way old media macher into a nimble new media visionary (or at least lend the foresight to hire one).
Sure, as outlets wise up and start figuring out that there really is bank to be made on-line we will see less paper. Sad for those who enjoy the feeling of flipping through an entire Sunday scribe, myself included. But at the end of the day, isn’t accurate, credible information more important than the way we receive it?
I sure think so.
And if I’m wrong, I’ll be the best one-armed fry cook McDonald’s has ever seen.
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Amazing! WWD is expensive but still the bible of fashion.