N.J. and Ohio lead in 2005-2012 circulation losses

Responding to a reader's request, I've updated my list of circulation losses among the 81 U.S. community newspapers since 2005, just before the industry tipped into a major downturn.

Papers in New Jersey and Ohio accounted for six of the 10 biggest losers during 2005-2012, according to Gannett's regulatory filings. No. 1: the Courier News in Somerville, N.J. Circulation there plunged 62%, to 14,219 weekdays vs. 37,282 in 2005.

The Pacific Daily News in Hagatna, Guam, had the smallest decline: 19%, to 16,484 copies.

Across all the 81 papers, circulation fell an average 36%.

Related: AAM's searchable database has figures as of March 31.

Guam | How to fill the paper on a slow-news day

The Pacific Daily News has just published an 11-paragraph story under the headline, "Gannett launches website for job seekers."

Here are 2005-2010 circ losses for all U.S. dailies; Courier News in N.J. leads list, documents show

The Courier News in Bridgewater, N.J., had the biggest percentage loss in weekday circulation from 2005 to 2010, according to a new review of data for all of Gannett's 81 U.S. community newspapers, as published in the company's annual shareholder reports.

Bridgewater's circulation fell 51%, to 18,437 from 37,282 over those six years, my review shows.

The average for all the papers: a 27% decline, to a total 3.4 million weekday copies at the end of last year vs. 4.7 million in 2005.

I didn't include USA Today in this review because its business is so different from the community papers. USAT's circulation was 1.8 million at the end of last year vs. 2.3 million in 2005 -- a 22% decline, according to the annual reports.

Also, it's important to note that GCI had eight fewer papers in 2010 than in 2005, after selling those titles. Including the largest, The Honolulu Advertiser, they had combined circulation of 366,000.

The paper with the smallest loss was the Pacific Daily News in Hagatna, Guam: Its circulation fell just 10%.

I had previously calculated losses only for GCI's 10 biggest newspapers. I did the new review at the request of a Gannett Blog reader.

Across the industry, weekday circulation fell an average 16.4% from 2004-2009, to 45.7 million copies, according to the Newspaper Association of America. That's the most recent six-year period available on its website.

Where does your paper rank?
Go to this spreadsheet for data on all 81 papers in 2005 and 2010. Here are the top 10:

Note on Visalia, Tulare
GCI has combined the circulation for California's Visalia Times-Delta and Tulare Advance Register in the 2010 annual report, instead of listing them separately, as was done in 2005. Combining the two figures in 2005, I calculate a 22% loss for the papers over the six-year period. But that's not exactly an apples-to-apples comparison.

A cookie cutter future for the smallest newspapers

Editors of Gannett's top newspapers are scheduled to meet Aug. 16-18 at Corporate's headquarters in McLean, Va., to revamp their newsrooms, following the latest round of layoffs. The meeting for the benefit of the "T-31" papers has exposed a divide within the U.S. newspaper division and its 80 titles, prompting renewed speculation about the future for the smaller ones.

To the best of my knowledge, Corporate has never publicly disclosed a list of the T-31s, defined as the largest revenue producers; I posted one earlier this month, which I assembled with the help of a Gannett Blog reader.

The NT-31s (for "not top") are the other 49 community papers, and are spread across the nation: from Gannett's first newspaper, the Star-Gazette in Elmira, N.Y., to the 10 titles in the Media Network of Central Ohio, to The Californian in Salinas.

Conventional wisdom suggests the NT-31s will continue to be starved of resources through layoffs and other austerity measures, much like what's happening to the larger dailies.

But given their already shrunken capacities, the NTs will be among the first to go Web-only, perhaps after a period where they become zoned editions of larger nearby Gannett papers. Call it a cookie cutter future. (A featured example, discussed below, is today's editions of three NTs in New Jersey; I've embedded images of their front pages, left.)

The best summary of where the NTs may be headed came July 12, from Anonymous@1:08 p.m. Following is the text.

'Why you get forgotten'
I am so very sorry to be the one to tell you this, but . . . the company decided a couple of years ago that you ain't worth the time, money and fuss. That's why you have editor/ad directors/GMs and not publishers. That's why you don't get included in company meetings. That's why you get forgotten about in conference calls. While your margins remain good, the actual dollars you have in play remain low. So, even though Muncie, Ind., has a much higher NIBT return than Indianapolis, the cash flowing through The Indianapolis Star's ledger makes them and the other T-31s worth the most of Corporate's attention.

For example, at Corporate, we track the NT-31s as a single entity, rolling up all the numbers into one spreadsheet, as if the combination was a single site. Of course, the NT-31s still have their own unit numbers (for now) and Evan Ray still digs into them when he sees group performance taking a dip.

Future: strip shopping malls
But, harsh reality here: The NT-31s will soon be like bank branches in strip shopping centers. They will have a sign, a front counter, maybe a person or two -- but all other real functions will be at the main office somewhere else.

Sure, we will always look for ways to spotlight a few of you folks: You get your share of the President's Rings, for example, and one or two of the Freedom of Information award finalist spots. Hey, what about Guam! Let's give them a shout-out 'cause they are interesting and fun! Keep hope alive.

But, truthfully, your value to the company has been relegated to giving street cred to the National Network Footprint of Gannett, so we can say we have XX properities in XX states serving XX audience. So, we really need to get your expense numbers as low as possible. Fewer FTES, just enough lifeblood to keep you alive but not strong enough to do much more than that. Keep your salaries low, your expenses lower, your management lowest.

So, long answer to a short question: The NT-31s will get the Passion Topics rollout in webinars, PowerPoints and conference calls -- with regional training for those clustered near T-31 sites.

Now, if you want to start another thread: How many of the NT-31 sites make more money (not just percentage NIBT, but total cash) than some of the T-31s? I bet there are a few of those small sites that do better at the end of the day than a few of those so-called larger-market sites.

Please post your replies in the comments section, below. To e-mail confidentially, write jimhopkins[at]gmail[dot-com]; see Tipsters Anonymous Policy in the rail, upper right.

[Images: today's editions of three NT-31 newspapers in New Jersey that have become satellites of one, larger N.J., paper: the Asbury Park Press, Newseum. The three are the Courier News in Somerville, N.J.; the Home News Tribune in East Brunswick, and the Daily Record in Parsippany. The combined staffing in their newsrooms was cut nearly in half, to about 53, in February. Today, for example, all the papers have substantially the same front pages]

Page One | Majority of fronts carry bin Laden news

[Updated at 5:40 p.m. ET to correct Guam entry.]

Among 64 of Gannett's 82 U.S. newspapers in the Newseum's database today, nine don't have any mention of Osama bin Laden's death on their front pages, when many readers are looking for historic editions.

A half-dozen are on the East Coast, where deadlines were the latest. Some share press sites, which points to the downside of consolidation. And one is a full 14 hours ahead of East Coast time: the Pacific Daily News of Guam. And one is a surprise: the Pacific Daily News of Guam, where deadlines were the latest relative to East Coast time.

It's worth noting that some papers may have uploaded early editions to the Newseum's database; later editions may contain the news. That appears to be the case of The Cincinnati Enquirer, which shows a front page on its website with bin Laden's death, and the Poughkeepsie Journal of New York, which published an extra edition this morning.

The nine papers, and their ABC circulations as of Sept. 30:

• The Daily World in Opelousas, La.: daily: 6,169 Sunday 7,447.
• The Courier News in Morristown, N.J.: daily 18,392; Sunday, 22,134.
• The Daily Record in Parsippany, N.J.: daily, 23,054; Sunday, 25,743.
• The Daily Journal Vineland, N.J.: daily, 13,690; no Sunday edition.
• The Poughkeepsie Journal in New York: daily, 28,249; Sunday, 38,493.
• Asheville Citizen-Times of North Carolina: daily, 34,803: Sunday, 52,117.
• The Cincinnati Enquirer of Ohio: daily, 157,574; Sunday, 255,037.
• The News Leader in Staunton, Va.: daily, 14,510; Sunday, 16,838.
• Pacific Daily News in Guam: circulation unavailable.

Please post your replies in the comments section, below. To e-mail confidentially, write jimhopkins[at]gmail[dot-com]; see Tipsters Anonymous Policy in the rail, upper right.

Urgent: Zidich is named publisher of the year

Zidich

That's according to a just-distributed list of the 10 publishers given President's Rings for 2010, the top prize in the U.S. community newspaper division. In all, 25 publishers were eligible at 81 dailies. (I don't think USA Today is included in these awards.)

John Zidich of The Arizona Republic, who also is president of the West Group of regional dailies, was one of the three leading publishers, according to division President Bob Dickey, who announced the awards earlier today. This is Zidich's eighth ring. The other two:

• Susie Ellwood of the Detroit Media Partnership, first runner-up; this is her ninth ring
• Roy Heatherly of The Jackson Sun in Tennessee, second runner-up; this is his second ring

The other seven winners, with the total rings they have now won in parentheses:

• Sherm Bodner of the Binghamton Press and Sun-Bulletin in New York (5) 
• Mike Beck of the Wausau Daily Herald in Wisconsin (5) 
• Genia Lovett of the Post-Crescent in Appleton, Wis. (4) 
• Brian Priester of the Lansing State Journal in Michigan (8) 
• Rindraty Limtiaco of the Pacific Daily News in Guam (4) 
• Margaret Buchanan of The Cincinnati Enquirer (12) 
• Mei-Mei Chan of The News Press in Fort Myers, Fla. (1)

In a memo forwarded to me by a reader, Dickey said: "Each of these winners remained focused on providing quality journalism and compelling content while ensuring all of our customers were served at the highest possible levels. Their leadership was evident beyond just the results they delivered; they care about their employees and the communities they serve."

Related: here's last year's list of winners for 2009.

Earlier: 38 other newspaper managers get rings for 2010. Plus: In last year's award for Ellwood, a sign of things to come.

Broadcasting, Phoenix lead top employee awards

Corporate just announced that Mark Cornetta, president and general manager of KUSA/KTVD-TV in Denver, has been named Manager of the Year for 2010.

Finalists for that No. 1 honor in the annual employee awards program were Darren Bruce, Newsquest Magazine publisher; and John Misner, president and general manager of KPNX-TV, Phoenix, and John Zidich, president of the U.S. Community Publishing's West Group and president and publisher of The Arizona Republic.

In another top award, USA Today's iPad Launch Team won the Innovator of the Year award. USAT's win comes a day after a member of that team disclosed that he's leaving for a software developer job at Twitter.

The winners were honored at a ceremony today at Gannett headquarters in McLean, Va., along with the recipients of the previously announced Unsung Heros.

Earlier: Zidich "warning labels" now on stories.

Urgent: Here's a list of paper assignments by hub; second document is an FAQ from V.P. Marymont

I've now published a spreadsheet, listing 78 newspapers and their assigned page production hubs, which Gannett is calling News Design Centers. It was provided to me by a reader, after Gannett confirmed today that it's launching five large pagination hubs over the next two years. They are to be based at the Asbury Park Press in New Jersey; The Courier-Journal in Louisville; The Des Moines Register; The Tennessean at Nashville, and The Arizona Republic in Phoenix.

The original spreadsheet includes the following caveat: "This document shows which newspapers are assigned to which News Design Center, based on information we have now. It is possible that additional research might require that we make adjustments to these assignments."

Note: Gannett lists 81 dailies in its U.S. Community Publishing division; they exclude USA Today and the Detroit Free Press. I have been unable to account for three of those papers, which appear to be missing from the document supplied to me. (Update at 10:27 p.m. ET: Guam is exempt, so that accounts for one of the three.)

Also, I've now added a related memo and FAQ from News Department Vice President Kate Marymont.

Earlier: Stripped to a "flying gas can," we start the final leg

Breaking: Gannett says July's revenue fell 12.3%; no change in downward trend; USAT improves

[Downer: July's GCI revenue compared to earlier periods]

Updated at 5:49 p.m. ET. Gannett just reported that last month's operating revenues tumbled 12.3% from July 2007, as classified advertising losses accelerated. The revenue results were slightly worse than June's 12.1% drop. Yet, they're in line with CEO Craig Dubow's warning in the second-quarter earnings report.

Flagship USA Today bounced back: Its advertising revenue fell just 5.5% from July 2007, a big improvement over this June's year-over-year 27% plunge.

Gannett's classified advertising trend -- especially real estate -- only got worse last month, the new monthly statistical report shows:

• Overall classified: down 25.2%. (June's was down 21.6%.)
• Real estate: down 38%. (June's was down 34%.)

Investor reaction? Z-z-z-z-z-z. Gannett shares closed at $17.67, up 12 cents, amid a broad stock market rally, Google Finance says.

Gannett Blog Reax
From the comments section, below:

• "Don't look for improvement in August. Expected Olympics ads have not showed up, and I hear contracts for back-to-school have been miserable."
• "Let's be clear about these results. Revenues are down, and have been declining, but Gannett is NOT losing money. All, or nearly all, properties are profitable. . . . The profit margins of at least three papers -- Palm Springs, Guam and Green Bay -- continue to be near, at or above 40%."

Please post your reactions in the comments section, below. To e-mail confidentially, write gannettblog[at]gmail[dot-com]; see Tipsters Anonymous Policy in the green sidebar, upper right.