Overall Circulation of U.S. Newspapers Falls

Several large newspapers posted circulation gains in the six-month period ending in March, but overall newspaper circulation was down nationwide, according to figures released Monday by the Audit Bureau of Circulations.

The nation’s three largest papers recorded gains of less than 1%, and Gannett Co.’s USA Today kept its lead as the largest-circulation paper at 1,852,592 average weekday circulation, up 0.8% from the same period a year ago.

The Wall Street Journal maintained its position at No. 2 at 1,819,528, up 0.4%, and the New York Times was next at 1,159,954, up 0.9%.

Despite the gains at the nation’s top papers, the Newspaper Assn. of America said overall daily circulation fell 0.9% at the 773 papers reporting to the ABC, and 1.7% on Sundays.

The picture was mixed at other major dailies. After the New York Times, the next four largest newspapers--the Los Angeles Times, the Washington Post, the New York Daily News and the Chicago Tribune--posted declines.

The Los Angeles Times reported a 0.5% increase in Sunday circulation but a 4.8% decline in average daily circulation for the six-month period. Sunday circulation rose 6,655 to 1,391,343 and daily circulation fell 53,291 to 1,058,494, The Times said.

But other large dailies recorded gains. Rupert Murdoch’s New York Post benefited from cutting its single-copy price in half in September to 25 cents, posting an 11.6% gain in circulation to 487,219.

The San Francisco Chronicle also logged a major gain as its longtime competitor, the Examiner, changed ownership. The Chronicle has been going after the Examiner’s readers with discounted subscriptions.

The Chronicle’s circulation jumped 13.4% to 527,466 during the period after Hearst Corp. bought the paper and transferred ownership of the Examiner to the Fang family, which has been publishing a revamped newspaper with a subsidy from Hearst.