Distribution Numbers? Never again!
by June 14, 1999 12:00 am 91 views
On May 17, the Northwest Arkansas Business Journal reported March distribution numbers for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette’s Northwest Arkansas edition.
For the three local daily newspapers, however, the Journal furnished a list with the most recent paid circulation numbers from September 1998, a comparison some area newspapers didn’t think was fair.
So here are the distribution numbers for the three area daily papers on the same two days as those that were provided by the D-G.
The Morning News of Northwest Arkansas: Sunday, March 7, 38,521; Tuesday, March 9, 41,336.
Northwest Arkansas Times: Sunday, March 7, 16,546; Tuesday, March 9, 16,497.
Benton County Daily Record: Sunday, March 7, 17,106; Tuesday, March 9, 11,034. All of the Daily Record’s circulation is within Benton County.
Distribution numbers are higher than paid circulation numbers because they include newspapers that didn’t sell and were returned from racks as well as complimentary copies and papers that are sold at rates lower than allowed by the Audit Bureau of Circulations. Audited March circulation numbers for the D-G should be available soon.
In May, the Journal wrote that, if the new distribution numbers hold steady for the D-G, the D-G would take over as the second-most widely circulated newspaper in Northwest Arkansas (Washington and Benton counties combined).
Hector Cueva, circulation director for the Times, says his newspaper doesn’t circulate in Benton County and still leads the D-G on its home turf of Washington County. Ninety-six percent of the Times daily distribution is in Washington County.
For the two-county area, the DG’s distribution was greater than that of the Times. But in Washington County, the Times is still ahead of the D-G, although both trail The Morning News of Northwest Arkansas in paid circulation in the county.
The D-G had a March 7 (Sunday) distribution of 12,443 in Washington County and 9,146 in Benton County, for a total of 21,589.
The D-G had a March 9 (Tuesday) distribution of 9,239 in Washington County and 6,927 in Benton County, for a total of 16,166.