Taking a look at circulation

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: New newspaper paid-circulation figures out -- thanks for reading this ... somewhere : Paid-circulation averages for the Chicago Tribune over the six-month stretch ending in September dropped 5.8 percent on Sundays and 7.8 percent weekdays compared to the same period a year ago, according to figures released Monday by the Schaumburg-based Audit Bureau of Circulations. : Chicago Sun-Times paid-circulation averages rose 4.5 percent Sundays and fell 3.9 percent weekdays, year-to-year, for the same period, while the suburban Daily Herald of Arlington Heights fell 3.1 percent Sundays and 4.7 percent weekdays. : Overall U.S. newspaper circulation, among the 507 dailies reporting to ABC in both periods, slipped 4.9 percent Sundays and 4.6 percent weekdays. : Besides overall industry trends in paid circulation, as readers increasingly consume news and advertising through the Internet and other free sources, the Tribune's numbers were affected by deliberate efforts to pare less profitable distribution, as well single-copy price increases. The Tribune's weekday price rose from 50 cents to 75 cents at the end of last year; the Sunday Tribune increased from $1.79 to $1.99 in July. : The Chicago Tribune Media Group -- which includes not only the Chicago Tribune but such other Chicago-area Tribune Co. print and online assets as the free daily RedEye, Spanish-language Hoy and chicagotribune.com -- said its circulation and readership were up overall, suggesting the traditional paid-circulation metric is not as significant as it once was. : "It is clear that our strategies to build our local audience are paying off," Tony Hunter, president, publisher and chief executive of Chicago Tribune Media Group, said in a statement. "We will continue to leverage our portfolio of media offerings as we compete for both readers and advertising dollars. And we're very encouraged by the early success of the redesign of the Chicago Tribune." : Response to the Chicago Tribune's redesign, implemented in late September, is not reflected in these ABC numbers. : Although the Chicago Tribune's weekday paid average fell to 516,032, the company said its local weekday circulation overall was up 17 percent to more than 882,000 copies. The Tribune's Sunday paid average dropped to 864,845, but the company said overall local circulation, which included home-delivered editions of RedEye and Hoy, grew 4 percent to 1.3 million. : The company also noted that Chicago Tribune Interactive's site traffic for chicagotribune.com and chicago.metromix.com, increased 38 percent. : The Chicago Sun-Times, in its Monday edition, credited its Sunday paid circulation surge -- to 255,905, according to ABC, a year-to-year increase of 10,943 copies -- to doubling the number of "hawkers" it uses to sell the paper in busy neighborhoods. The Sun-Times also said it discounted its Sunday edition by a third, from $1.50 to $1, to counter a Chicago Tribune promotion. : Sun-Times paid-circulation average dropped 12,842 copies on weekdays, year-to-year, to 313,174, according to ABC figures. : ABC said paid circulation at the Daily Herald over the same half-year span averaged 142,342 Sundays and 138,186 weekdays. : : Recent March-to-September paid-circulation averages, according to the Audit Bureau of Circulations: : Tribune March to Sept. 05 -- 950,582 (S) / 586,122 (M-F) : Tribune March to Sept. 06 -- 937,907 (S) / 576,132 (M-F) : Tribune March to Sept. 07 -- 917,868 (S) / 559,404 (M-F) : Tribune March to Sept. 08 -- 864,845 (s) / 516,032 (M-F) : Sun-Times March to Sept. 05 -- 281,129 (S) / 349,968 (M-F) : Sun-Times March to Sept. 06 -- 264,371 (S) / 341,448 (M-F) : Sun-Times March to Sept. 07 -- 244,962 (S) / 326,018 (M-F) : Sun-Times March to Sept. 08 -- 255,905 (S) / 313,176 (M-F) : Daily Herald March to Sept. 05 -- 151,577 (S) / 151,028 (M-F) : Daily Herald March to Sept. 06 -- 151,767 (S) / 151,200 (M-F) : Daily Herald March to Sept. 07 -- 146,944 (S) / 145,051 (M-F) : Daily Herald March to Sept. 08 -- 142,342 (S) / 138,186 (M-F) : : (Phil Rosenthal, Chicago Tribune)

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