As The Hartford Courant slashed its newsroom staff and shrunk the size of its paper late last year, the state’s largest daily newspaper suffered its biggest weekday circulation drop in years, mirroring the troubles experienced throughout the beleaguered newspaper industry.
The Courant’s weekday circulation dropped 8,798 to 155,540 between September 2008 and March, a 5.4 percent dip from the previous six-month period, according to the Audit Bureau of Circulations. The broadsheet’s weekday circulation has fallen from 179,066 since September 2006.
The large circulation drop experienced at the Courant is indicative of the suffering across the industry, which continues to lose print subscribers as newspapers shift more free content to the Web.
Still, the weekday circulation drop suffered by the Courant was not as severe as the national average for daily newspapers, which declined 7.1 percent over the same six-month period ending March 31. The Courant’s Sunday circulation, which fell 2 percent to 229,940, also outperformed the 5.4 percent drop on average nationwide.
Meanwhile, advertising sales across the newspaper industry suffered in the first quarter of 2009, falling a record 29.7 percent from the previous quarter to $5.9 billion, according to the Newspaper Association of America. Classified advertising took the worst hit, plunging 42 percent over the same period.
Other Connecticut dailies also suffered weekday circulation drops between September and March, but none as severe at the Courant’s. The Connecticut Post’s circulation dipped 3 percent to 70,405; the Norwich Bulletin’s dropped 4.4 percent to 21,479; and the Journal Inquirer, which in April started charging for online content, dropped 2.8 percent to 35,252. The New Haven Register actually enjoyed a modest gain, up 3.2 percent to 83,064.
Andrea Savastra, a Courant spokeswoman, said the newspaper was not surprised by the circulation dip, given the industry’s challenges.
“We were prepared for that,” Savastra said, adding the paper hopes an increased collaboration among the Courant, WTIC/Fox 61 and WTXX-TV/CW 20 — all owned by the Chicago-based Tribune Co. — will boost circulation.
“With the new company we’re creating, we’re making a new product we hope will appeal to a number of people,” she said.
Over the past year, the Courant has undergone a number of changes to its newsgathering and business operations, most visibly in its smaller papers, front-page redesign and a notable presence on Fox 61 newscasts.
Last July, the Courant announced it would cut 60 positions from the newsroom, to bring the total number to 175, while cutting the size of the paper about 25 percent. In recent months, the newspaper has shed additional veteran editors and reporters, including its top two editors.
In March, Courant publisher of three years, Steve Carver, was replaced by Rich Graziano, general manager of Fox 61 and CW 20. Since then, Editor Cliff Teutsch and Managing Editor Barbara Roessner have left, while Tribune veteran Jeff Levine was appointed to oversee the integration of online, print and television content.
“For our business to succeed, we need to quickly and boldly reinvent who we are, what we do, and how we go about doing it. The time to start is now,” Graziano said in an April memo to employees that was posted on a Web site for former Courant staffers.
In addition to merging content, Fox 61 and CW 20 will be moved into the Courant building on Broad Street by the end of the year.
Savastra declined to comment on integration efforts.
Tribune print and television operations in other cities have also started to share news operations, but it’s still too early to tell what impact the efforts have had in those markets, said John Morton, a Maryland-based newspaper industry analyst. Tribune’s financial reports do not provide a market-by-market breakdown.
“How well it’s going to work, we don’t know,” Morton said. “In the past, companies tried convergence, but it hasn’t necessarily worked.”
Still, longtime readers of the Courant may be put off by drastic cutbacks in the print edition and newsroom, said Roger Desmond, a University of Hartford journalism professor.
“The reaction is one of puzzlement for older readers, who are shocked or dismayed that something they have had forever isn’t there anymore,” Desmond said.
Reader response:
“I did nothing to hasten its demise and yet my paper keeps smaller and smaller and less topical. What to do, what to do????” — Pete Wortman
“In order for the Courant to survive, they need to focus on more news. The new format with huge pictures and no content are a waste of time, money, & effort. What the Courant great was the wide range of NEWS stories that covered the towns, state, nation, and the world. That is what most people want from their newspaper.” — Richard K. Johnson, Custom Printing & Copy Inc.
“The previous comment has it just right. People who read newspapers want a paper with news not a tabloid with big pictures. Give us in depth stories about news not sensationalism by reporters who report facts, not “writers” who inject opinion into their stories. We canceled our subscription to the Courant about a year ago and now get the Wall Street Journal on a daily basis. It does not have local news, but the difference in the reporting and depth of the stories on national issues is stark.” — Bill Stanley, Stanco Home Inspection
”Newspapers are dying because their static, slow-delivery media is being replaced by a more dynamic and always-available alternative.
The dilemma for older readers is not the eventual demise of the print version but their inability or unwillingness to adopt the new media.
This rapid transition is not good news for many people, who for valid reasons are not Internet connected.
The challenge/question is: can this lucrative niche market be profitably served by a printed news business model?” — Anthony D Merenda, i-MARK Inc.
