Circulation Research

Circulation Research
Circulation refers to the number of people
who receive a newspaper via subscription
or who buy a paper at a newsstand or vending
machine. Newspaper circulation has
been declining for several decades. Consequently,
much of current circulation research
is focused on how to maintain a circulation base that is attractive to advertisers and is
also profitable for the publication. Several
metropolitan papers have conducted cost/
benefit analyses to determine if circulation
in areas distant from the city center is
worth keeping. Some, including the Atlanta
Journal Constitution, have ceased delivery
to outlying counties in an effort to cut
expenses. Lindsay (2009), for example,
outlines “customer profitability analysis,”
a technique that describes how newspapers
can distinguish profitable subscribers and
preprint advertisers from less profitable ones
with the goal of maximizing profits.
A second area of circulation research looks
at the effects of content variables on circulation.
Lacy and Fico (1991) demonstrated that
measures of the content quality of a newspaper
were positively related to circulation
figures. Ha and Litman (1997) conducted a
longitudinal analysis of the impact of magazine
advertising clutter on the circulation of
10 magazines. They found that increased
clutter had a negative impact on the circulation
of entertainment magazines but not of
news magazines. Lastly, Cho, Thorson, and
Lacy (2004) documented that staff increases
and more local news helped improve circulation
at selected papers.
A third area looks at economic influences
on circulation. Blankenburg and
Friend (1994) discovered that circulation
figures were not related to the percentage
of a newspaper’s budget that was spent on
news-editorial expenses, nor was there a
relationship between money spent on promotion
and circulation. There was, however,
an influence of newspaper price; papers that
cost more tended to lose circulation. Similarly,
Lewis (1995) found that increases in
price were related to declines in circulation.
Marchetti (1996) detailed several economic
factors that were related to declining circulation,
including increased advertising cost,
cutbacks in newsstand distribution, and a
concentration on core market areas.