The April – June newspaper circulation audit results showed that every daily in Australia reported a decline except for The Mercury (Hobart) – no change and The West Australian Monday to Friday – up .2%. B&T has the details.
Comparing the 2011 results with 2012, the biggest losers were Fairfax titles – The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age. My understanding is that a significant portion of the declines are due to eliminating uneconomic and free copies from audit numbers.
The decline for regional titles it a hit against a usually reasonably strong sector.
While I am not claiming doom and gloom for newspapers, the latest audit is a reminder of the challenges for the print form of newspapers and a reminder to newsagents and would-be newsagents to take this into account in business planning.