Wake Up Call to Newspapers

Welcome to the BlogAge. No newspapers needed.

Last week I had to use the subway here in New York City for three consecutive days, and during rush hour. Much to my amazement, I saw very few people reading newspapers. What I did see were people glued to iPhones, Blackberries, and other electronic gadgets that allow reading news on the Internet. And the print media continues to fiddle while their industry is burning.

Of the twenty-five top daily newspapers in large metropolitan areas, only The Wall Street Journal posted a circulation gain of 0.5%, which is considered flat growth. The rest show an average decline of over 8%.

And while the industry is declining, newspapers continue to treat half the American population as persons with learning disabilities, who need to be taught how to think. Newspapers are editorializing more and more, and always with a left leaning. Well, millions of us are tired of having to pay to be lectured and told how dangerous we are, as in the case of my fellow Tea Party members. Furthermore, if newspapers are delivered electronically, don’t expect us to pay the same price we did when the delivery was by truck and need millions of tons of paper and ink.

I would subscribe to electronic New York Times for a fair price of let’s say…. No. No New York Times for me. Even for free.

1. The Wall Street Journal 2,092,523 +0.5%
2. USA Today 1,826,622 -13.58%
3. The New York Times 951,063 -8.47%
4. Los Angeles Times 616,606 -14.74%
5. Washington Post 578,482 -13.06%
6. Daily News (New York) 535,059 -11.25%
7. New York Post 525,004 -5.94%
8. San Jose Mercury News* 516,701 N/A
(1/1/10 To 3/31/2010)
9. Chicago Tribune 452,145 -9.79%
10. Houston Chronicle 366,578 -13.77%
11. The Philadelphia Inquirer** 356,189 N/A
12. The Arizona Republic 351,207 -9.88%
13. Newsday 334,809 -9.07%
14. The Denver Post*** 333,675 N/A
15. Star Tribune, Minneapolis 295,438 -7.71%
16. St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times 278,888 -1.49%
17. Chicago Sun-Times 268,803 -13.88%
18. The Plain Dealer, Cleveland 267,888 -8.14%
19. The Oregonian 263,600 -1.83%
20. The Seattle Times*** 263.468 N/A
21. The Dallas Morning News 260,659 -21.47%
22. Detroit Free Press 252,017 -13.31%
23. San Diego Union-Tribune 249,630 -4.45%
24. San Francisco Chronicle 241,330 -22.68%
25. The Star-Ledger, Newark, N.J. 236,017 -17.79%