Money | newspaper Newspaper Circulation Off 3.6% USA Today, WSJ only big names to buck accelerating downward trend By Nick McMaster Posted Apr 28, 2008 4:37 PM CDT Copied Rupert Murdoch, chairman of News Corporation, speaks at the dedication ceremony for the Newseum, a museum about journalism and the First Amendment, on opening day in Washington on Friday April 11, 2008. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) Newspaper circulation contracted the past six months as competition from Internet sources and cutbacks in advertising decreased sales, Bloomberg reports. Circulation dropped 3.6% for the industry as a whole, with only USA Today and the Wall Street Journal enjoying slightly increased circulation among the 25 largest papers. "The decline is certainly worse than in the past few years,'' one analyst said. Average weekday circulation for the top five newspapers over the past 6 months, with % change over the previous year: USA Today, 2,284,219, up 0.3%. Wall Street Journal, 2,069,463, up 0.4%. New York Times, 1,077,256, down 3.9%. Los Angeles Times, 773,884, down 5.1%. New York Daily News, 703,137, down 2.1%. Read These Next President warns Exxon over its wary response to Venezuela. Pizza chains face slowing sales and fierce fast-food competition. Golden Globes ends with an upset. Behind Lake Lanier's supposed curse, a darkly racist history. Report an error