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Kansas Liberty: 31 October 2008
One problem: The numbers came from the troubled newspaper itself.
Kansas City Star dismisses falling circulation report
There is no question that, like many newspapers, the Kansas City Star’s circulation numbers have declined dramatically recently. How much? It depends on who you ask.
According to an Audit Bureau of Circulation report that reflects a six-month period ending September 2008, the Kansas City Star’s daily circulation has declined 2.3 percent to 239,358. Sunday’s circulation experienced an even greater decrease - 5.3 percent to 324,837.
The latest figures appear in Editor & Publisher, a trade publication.
But the Star's web page, maintained by the paper's publisher, the McClatchy Company, reports a much higher circulation, claiming 262,552 for daily circulation and Sunday circulation of 364,739.
Mark Whitaker, strategic research consultant for the Kansas City Star, said the most recent official circulation numbers are 259,258 for daily circulation and 357,450 for Sunday circulation.
Whitaker dismissed the Audit Bureau of Circulation September numbers, saying they are submitted by the newspaper and have not been verified by an ABC audit. He said these reports are generally referred to as Fas Fax Reports and that the Kansas City Star only uses numbers from the annual official reports that are reviewed and audited.
The numbers matter because circulation is the traditional basis for setting advertising rates.
Whitaker admitted that the numbers posted on the publisher's site need to be updated as they reflected official reports from 2006. He said the next official audited report should be available in December or January.
McClatchy shares hit a 52-week low this week and the company's credit rating was steeply downgraded. Thursday, a Citi Investment Research analyst told a wire service that advertising in McClatchy papers would continue to decline through 2009 and that any online revenue is unlikely to offset print losses. Stocks closed Friday around $3, having dipped to $2.09 earlier in the week. Six months ago, the stock price was above $10.
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E&P's number's are correct
The Star's average daily circulation was 239,358 for M-F, 250,615 for Saturday, and 324,837 for Sunday. Using the formula Sat. + Sun. +(D*5)/7, the Star's overall average daily circulation was 253, 177.
For a little perspective, E&P Market Guide for 2006 placed the Star's average circulation for the six-month period ending March 31, 2004 at 275,747 (M-Sat) and 388,425 for Sunday. That was an overall daily circulation of 291,844. The Star has lost almost 40,000 subscribers in four years.
Here's where is gets really interesting (at least for those of us who follow circulation numbers). E&P's Market Guide for 2006 puts the number of households in the Star's market at 833,604 (2000 numbers). If we divide subscribers by households, we get a household penetration rate of 30 percent in 2008, down from 35 percent in 2004.
I have a copy of E&P's Market Guide for 1990. The Star's average Sunday circulation for the six-month period ending March 31, 1989 was 414,689. E&P placed the number of households in the market then at 648,217 (1980).