BUSINESS BRIEFING
Times Wire Reports
USA Today expects to report the largest decline in circulation in its 27-year history, threatening its No. 1 position among U.S. dailies as the growth of online news and the slump in travel pummel the newspaper.
While most large dailies are struggling to hold on to print subscribers and newsstand sales, USA Today is being hurt by a drop in traffic at airports and hotels, the newspaper’s mainstay. The paper, owned by Gannett Co., also increased the price of single copies to $1 from 75 cents last December.
In a memo to staff, USA Today publisher David Hunke said the newspaper’s average circulation was 1.88 million from April through September. That marks a loss of 398,000 copies, or 17%, from the same period last year.
