Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Postal Service numbers reveal weak U-T circulation

Audited figures contain digital, branded data that inflate results

Since the 19th century, publications have been required to reveal their ownership in a United States Postal Service report. Since 1960, that report has had to include information about circulation, too.

Monday (Oct. 7), the Union-Tribune printed its postal service report...in small type. The results may shock some readers and advertisers. Average seven-day paid circulation for the year through Sept. 15, 2013 was only 189,822. Circulation on the filing day (Sunday, Sept. 15) was 251,318.

This report represented a stark disparity from the numbers for the six months ended March 31 released by the Alliance for Audited Media earlier this year. That report showed Monday-Friday circulation was 250,678. Sunday circulation was 409,796. I tried to contact four U-T executives, explaining that while the postal service and Alliance numbers were not strictly apples to apples, or pristinely comparable, the disparity was startling.

About half an hour ago, I received an explanation from the U-T's George Bonaros. He said of the heftier Alliance report, "This statement includes total paid print circulation, digital copies, and branded editions that make up the U-T's 'Total Average Circulation' per [Alliance] guidelines." Bonaros says that the March 31 Alliance report Monday-Friday paid print circulation was 190,892 and Sunday 287,026. He claims these numbers are comparable to the postal service report, but I would say they reveal significant deterioration since March 31.

The Alliance, formerly the Audit Bureau of Circulations, has in recent years loosened its standards so much that journalists such as myself complain that the figures are questionable. (For example, the Alliance counts a paper sold for a penny as paid circulation. The U-T separately reported in the postal service account that it distributed 7,055 daily and 10,156 Sunday, Sept. 15 editions that were free or sold for a nominal amount.)

The lesson is clear: in assessing the U-T's circulation, read the fine print -- as reported to the U.S. Postal Service.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all

Previous article

JamPinoy: one cafeteria line, two cultures

Pick your island cuisine in Vista's new Jamaican-slash-Filipino eatery
Next Article

Roll-over crashes crop up in San Diego and Baja

Nails, beer, Coca-Cola, Mexican pop singer Luis Miguel's stage equipment

Since the 19th century, publications have been required to reveal their ownership in a United States Postal Service report. Since 1960, that report has had to include information about circulation, too.

Monday (Oct. 7), the Union-Tribune printed its postal service report...in small type. The results may shock some readers and advertisers. Average seven-day paid circulation for the year through Sept. 15, 2013 was only 189,822. Circulation on the filing day (Sunday, Sept. 15) was 251,318.

This report represented a stark disparity from the numbers for the six months ended March 31 released by the Alliance for Audited Media earlier this year. That report showed Monday-Friday circulation was 250,678. Sunday circulation was 409,796. I tried to contact four U-T executives, explaining that while the postal service and Alliance numbers were not strictly apples to apples, or pristinely comparable, the disparity was startling.

About half an hour ago, I received an explanation from the U-T's George Bonaros. He said of the heftier Alliance report, "This statement includes total paid print circulation, digital copies, and branded editions that make up the U-T's 'Total Average Circulation' per [Alliance] guidelines." Bonaros says that the March 31 Alliance report Monday-Friday paid print circulation was 190,892 and Sunday 287,026. He claims these numbers are comparable to the postal service report, but I would say they reveal significant deterioration since March 31.

The Alliance, formerly the Audit Bureau of Circulations, has in recent years loosened its standards so much that journalists such as myself complain that the figures are questionable. (For example, the Alliance counts a paper sold for a penny as paid circulation. The U-T separately reported in the postal service account that it distributed 7,055 daily and 10,156 Sunday, Sept. 15 editions that were free or sold for a nominal amount.)

The lesson is clear: in assessing the U-T's circulation, read the fine print -- as reported to the U.S. Postal Service.

Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Union-Tribune Circulation Drops 9.53 points

Next Article

Droopy

Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader