Register Reports Circulation Drop Over 6 Months

The Orange County Register’s average daily circulation has declined 25,000 from the number claimed six months ago, according to figures that the paper reported Saturday. Sunday average circulation was down 28,000.

It was the first time since September, 1989, that the Register had declared a circulation decrease from the previous six months’ period, according to figures on file with the independent Audit Bureau of Circulations in Schaumburg, Ill.

The latest figures are for the six-month period ending Sept. 30.

The Register’s average daily circulation was 347,675, and its average Sunday circulation for the period was 400,375. Both figures were well below the paper’s claimed circulation as of last March 31--372,750 daily and 429,146 Sunday.

The paper made no formal announcement of the circulation loss, and officials did not return calls Saturday. But in an article in its Saturday edition, publisher R. David Threshie blamed the decline on a subscription-price increase that was exacerbated by the new state sales tax and on problems with the newspaper’s circulation operations.

“The imposition of the sales tax came at a very inopportune time,” Threshie said.

The ABC is winding up an extended audit of the Register’s circulation claims for the six-month period that ended March 31. In last March’s circulation statement, the Register asserted sizable, six-month and year-to-year circulation increases for both daily and Sunday, but the ABC auditors reportedly have found discrepancies in those claims.

However, the results of the ABC audit have not yet been publicly released. ABC officials say they cannot comment on the matter until the audit is officially completed.

In September, the Register dismissed two top managers--Patrick Elster, the paper’s then-vice president for circulation, and Joseph Mertins, his top aide. Threshie declined to comment on the dismissals, but the action came in the wake of a lawsuit by 18 former independent distributors who charged that the newspaper had manipulated circulation claims. A hearing in the case is set for Thursday.

The figures that the paper announced Saturday are the first since the audit. The announcement came in the wake of speculation that the Register might be showing a circulation drop because of the audit. The Orange County Business Journal reported in a Sept. 2 story, for instance, that “the Register is bracing for an embarrassment--a scaling back of its stated circulation numbers by some 20,000.”

While showing a big drop from March 31 to Sept. 30, the Register’s average circulation shows only a slight decrease from a year ago. The newspaper told the ABC that its average daily circulation was 353,637 on Sept. 30, 1990, and its average Sunday circulation was 406,696. The year-to-year decline was thus about 6,000 daily and 6,000 Sunday.

The Register’s Saturday announcement was in contrast to circulation figures released this week by its competitor, The Times Orange County Edition. The Times reported six month and year-to-year gains for both daily and Sunday circulation.

The Times said the average daily circulation of its Orange County edition for the six-month period ending Sept. 30 was 185,472--up 7,231 from a year ago and up 824 from six months ago. The Times said its average Sunday circulation for the six-month period ending Sept. 30 was 276,278--an increase of 27,569 from a year ago and 13,803 from six months ago.

The two competing newspapers announced their circulation figures just as the independent ABC was preparing to mail out the figures to advertisers and other ABC-member publications.

Earlier this year, the Register claimed in an advertisement in the industry magazine Editor & Publisher that it had a 372,750 daily circulation and 429,146 Sunday circulation for the six-month period ending March 31. The advertisement cited ABC as its source.

By contrast, in its news story Saturday, the newspaper inexplicably said that its circulation as of March 31 was 354,843 daily and 407,760 on Sunday. Neither of those figures is on file with ABC--which shows the same March 31 circulation claims that the Register celebrated in its July 13 ad in Editor & Publisher.

Register publisher Threshie, quoted in the paper Saturday, said the paper’s circulation effort was hampered by problems in handling orders for the paper. “We sold more orders than our field force could handle,” he was quoted as saying. “In addition, changing the method of distribution and sale of news-rack and newsstand copies of the newspaper caused a decrease in those sales.” he added.

Officials of The Times on Saturday said that the newspaper had similarly been hit with the new state sales tax during the past six months but nonetheless had been able to show increased circulation.

Lawrence M. Higby, president of the Orange County Edition of The Times, said: “I think the increases in our circulation show the continued acceptance of Orange County readers of The Times. We think our readers have found that The Times provides great international and national coverage, while also providing great coverage of Orange County.”

Overall, The Times circulation for the period ending Sept. 30 was reported as 1,177,253--down 19,070 from the same period a year ago. Times officials said that decline reflects a deliberate attempt by the paper to eliminate some circulation in remote areas. The Times has said its average Sunday circulation as of Sept. 30 was 1,529,609, an increase of 11,600 from a year ago.