For those of us who have already traded daily newsprint for the real-time headlines available via Internet access, Monday's news about newspapers will come as little surprise. The numbers are in, and once again, newspaper circulation has declined in the past six months.
According to a study conducted by the Newspaper Association of America and reported by The Associated Press, newspaper circulation declined by 2.6% in the six month-period that ended in March. That's the same percentage decline as the last time the survey results were distributed.
In another data point that supports recent trends, newspapers that run related websites to disseminate their reporting experienced an 8% increase in online readership to 56 million.
In terms of the top of the heap in newsprint, Gannett's (NYSE: GCI) USA Today and Dow Jones' (NYSE: DJ) Wall Street Journal retained their No. 1 and 2 slots, respectively. Newspapers that experienced "significant" declines in circulation, according to the report, included Tribune's (NYSE: TRB) Los Angeles Times, down 5.4%, and Washington Post (NYSE: WPO), down 3.7%. The New York Times' (NYSE: NYT) flagship gained a tad, up 0.5%, while Tribune's Chicago Tribune increased circulation by 0.9%.
While it's interesting to track newspaper circulation, again, there's no new theme here, and it doesn't show a reversal of the trends that have been forming for the past year or two. It's clear that computer ownership and high-speed Internet access have pretty much permeated the modern American household, yet it's not much of a surprise, either. I can't imagine subscribing to a physical newspaper -- not when I haven't the time to sit down and read one, not to mention that I can simply follow several newspapers on the Net. I'd imagine many people feel the same way.
Meanwhile, there are other forces at work as well. Some say grassroots journalism has helped blogs take off because of a growing distrust of conventional reportage. And of course, there are companies like Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) and Yahoo! (Nasdaq: YHOO) that seek to be your news and information hub so that you will tune in to their advertisers.
Several Fools have recently peeked at the numbers behind the newsprint to scout for opportunities. Here, a self-professed contrarian came up with a few ideas in the industry. And Fool contributor Stephen Simpson recently dug into a local newspaper play.
Indeed, there can be opportunity behind bad news for a certain industry, for investors who pay close attention, do their homework, and, in many cases, take on a certain degree of risk as the industry continues to shift.
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Alyce Lomax does not own shares of any of the companies mentioned.
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