Plummeting National Circulation Decline Doesn't Spare The Oregonian

The latest daily circulation numbers for the nation's largest newspapers show their free fall continues, and that subscriber bloodletting does not spare The Oregonian.

Editor & Publisher reports that for the six months ending this March, circulation fell by 7 percent nationally for the dailies, compared to the same six-month period in 2008. The O's circulation declined 11.76 percent over that period — one of 11 papers among the nation's 25 largest to suffer a percentage-point decline in double-digits.

Earlier this month, Oregonian Executive Editor Peter Bhatia spoke to City Club about the state of the industry. He responded forcefully to the premise that newspapers are dead, remarks worth reading given today's latest gloomy news on top of past rounds of tough news at the paper.