D-G Circulation Up After ABC Audit
by June 28, 1999 12:00 am 102 views
The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette’s paid daily circulation is up almost 60 percent over the past year in Washington and Benton counties, and Sunday circulation increased by 36 percent in the two-county area.
The daily number is about 10 percent less than the 70 percent jump in distribution numbers released by the newspaper in May.
The increase seems to indicate the newspaper’s edition zoned for Northwest Arkansas has been well received since it was launched in July 1998. But critics say the D-G has slashed the newspaper’s subscription rate to $1.05 per week, so subscribers are buying the D-G because of price rather than quality of news coverage.
According to audited figures from the Audit Bureau of Circulations, the D-G had a daily circulation of 8,159 in the two-county area a year ago. As of March 31, the number had increased to 13,062.
For the same 12-month period, Sunday circulation for the D-G increased from 13,762 to 18,720.
With the new numbers, the D-G moves into the No. 2 spot in the two-county area in Sunday circulation behind The Morning News of Northwest Arkansas. But the D-G is still behind the the Morning News and the Northwest Arkansas Times in daily circulation for the two-county area. (The Times makes no attempt to circulate in Benton County and is still firmly in second place in Washington County behind the Morning News in both daily and Sunday circulation).
The D-G’s numbers are from March 31. The other three local daily newspapers report circulation numbers to ABC in September, so their figures are six months older than those of the D-G.