Wall Street Journal Circulation Rises 16% With Web Additions
The Wall Street Journal, taking advantage of the paid-subscription nature of its online edition, posted a 16% circulation gain for the six months ended Sept. 30 as it for the first time included certain paying electronic subscribers.
In the newspaper industry's twice-yearly circulation report, which includes bulk sales, many of the U.S.'s top newspapers reported largely flat circulation, continuing the trend of recent years. Gannett Co.'s USA Today remained the country's top-selling paper, reporting average weekday circulation slightly higher at 2,246,996. As a result of counting the additional subscribers, the Journal, which used to lag significantly behind USA Today , now is a close second to the best-selling U.S. daily paper. The Journal, published by Dow Jones & Co., said average weekday circulation at the business daily hit 2,091,062. Circulation for just the print edition barely budged at 1,800,650, compared with 1,800,607 in the year-earlier period.
Gordon Crovitz, Dow Jones's senior vice president in charge of electronic publishing, said the change "highlights the opportunity for advertisers to make full use of the Journal franchise." The Wall Street Journal Online counts 686,000 paying subscribers world-wide, of which about 400,000 are online subscribers only. Of that number, the Journal was allowed to include 290,412 on its circulation statement based on Audit Bureau of Circulations rules governing what price level of subscriptions can count as paid circulation.
The Journal is the only major paper in the U.S. capable of counting such high paid-subscriber numbers from an online edition because most give away their content free. The New York Times, for example, counts about 3,000 paying subscribers to an electronic edition that physically resembles the physical newspaper, including its ads.
Advertisers welcomed the move but cautioned they would want extra details to differentiate between print and online customers. "I think it is a positive thing to help advertisers understand the degree to which online circulation is growing," said Matthew Spahn, director of media planning at Sears, Roebuck & Co. "But it's also important to see if these are the same readers or different ones," he said.
A spokesman for USA Today said the Journal's move is another step toward counting all types of readership data in the official circulation numbers. "An inclusive number for print and online for USA Today would be 6.8 million," he said. "How far do you want to take it?" USA Today's Web site is available free.
Continuing its success in recent periods, News Corp.'s New York Post registered another significant gain in average weekday circulation, rising 10.6% to 652,426 and surpassing Tribune Co.'s Chicago Tribune. Post Chairman and Publisher Lachlan Murdoch attributed the gain to increased marketing efforts. The paper has been moving steadily up the rankings since bringing in a new top editorial team and cutting the newsstand price to 25 cents. Mr. Murdoch said its gains "obviously won't last forever and you get to a point of saturation," adding he has "no idea when that comes."
New York Times Co.'s flagship paper remained in third spot with a slight gain in average weekday circulation to 1,118,565. Washington Post Co.'s flagship slipped 1.9% to 732,872 and Tribune's Los Angeles Times was down 1.1% to 955,211.
Overall, according to an analysis by the Newspaper Association of America, daily circulation for the U.S. newspapers reporting to ABC during the six-month period was up a scant 0.2% to 48,997,100. Sunday circulation fell 0.4% to 53,854,152.
《华尔街日报》发行量增长16%
利用网络版付费订阅优势的《华尔街日报》(The Wall Street Journal)截至9月份的6个月发行量增长16%，因其首次将部分付费的电子订户纳入发行量。
在报纸行业一年两次的发行量报告中，许多美国一线报纸公布，包括团体订户在内，截至9月份的6个月的发行量基本持平，延续了近年来的颓势。甘尼特公司(Gannett Co., GCI)出版的《今日美国》(USA Today)依然是全美最畅销的报纸，同期工作日平均发行量微幅增长至2,246,996份。
《华尔街日报》的发行量向来落后于《今日美国》，但这次计入新增订户后，发行量已接近后者，成为全美第二大畅销日报。这份由道琼斯公司(Dow Jones & Co., DJ)发行的日报称，截至9月份的6个月中，工作日平均发行量达到2,091,062份；其中印刷版发行量为1,800,650份，稍稍高于上年同期的1,800,607份。
道琼斯公司负责电子刊物的高级副总裁高登?克罗维茨(Gordon Crovitz)称，这一变化“凸显了广告商充分利用日报特许权的机会”。《华尔街日报》网络版在全球的付费订户为686,000个，其中400,000个订户只订阅网络版。根据美国发行审计局(Audit Bureau of Circulations)的规定，电子刊物的收费达到规定的价格水平后才能将订户纳入付费发行量，《华尔街日报》网络版因而可以将付费订户中的290,412个收费达标的订户纳入发行量。
《华尔街日报》是美国唯一一份有能力将网络版较高付费订户纳入发行量的主要报纸，因为大多数美国报刊的网络版是免费阅览的。举例来说，《纽约时报》(New York Times)网络版的内容（包括广告）实际上与印刷版相同，付费订户为3,000个左右。
这份纽约时报公司(New York Times Co., NYT)的旗舰报纸的发行量依然排名第三，工作日平均发行量实现小幅增长，达到1,118,565份。《华盛顿邮报》(Washington Post)发行量下滑1.9%，至732,872份。Tribune出版的《洛杉矶时报》(Los Angeles Times)发行量下降1.1%，至955,211份。
据美国报纸协会(Newspaper Association of America)的分析报告显示，总体而言，美国报纸向美国广播公司(ABC)公布截至9月份的6个月的发行总量微幅增长0.2%，至48,997,100份。周日发行量下降0.4%，至53,854,152份。
