Though many newspapers are claiming that they are removing wasted circulation from their file, that's actually code for cutting printing costs because they aren't making enough money to justify the number of issues being printed. You can also expect the industry to make claims about 'readership' as opposed to circulation which is a measure of the number of people who read a publication perhaps from pass-along from friends rather than a measure of one reader per printed copy. Again, this is a way to float larger audience numbers to advertisers to justify the cost of printed pages.
I won't proclaim the end of print as a medium. I enjoy skimming through The Chronicle every morning on the train very much. But if you can't see that the online space is where it's at by now, then you probably deserve to watch your print circulation business slip into oblivion. I've heard the excuse that the money isn't there yet. Well, you're on the edge of losing the revenue stream that could be used to figure out how to make enough money online to support the staff and infrastructure that keeps your business alive.
Dear Mr. Print Publsher - The next time an editor says she wants to pay a blogger to post on the site, I suggest you reply, "Yes, please. Shall we pay bloggers $2 per word? Let's put that blog on the home page. Would you like more engineers to work with? What is the minimum number of people we need to keep the print product alive? I want to move all the talent over to the online side of the business. Who wants the corner office where the Art Director used to sit?"
By the way, kudos to Tom Abate and The Chronicle for printing this story on the front page of the Business section...in print. Bold.
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