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McNews is being squeezed by two market downturns. So, if you think most newspapers have it bad, realize that it could be much worse.
Gannett's (NYSE: GCI) major national paper, USA Today, is getting ready to report a 17% drop in circulation – the largest it has ever sustained. The popular daily is fighting a battle on two fronts. It has to deal with a media slump and a travel recession. It's hard to pick two tougher industries in this economic climate.
Of course, the mayhem being visited upon the print media business is partly responsible for the decline (duh). Print is getting brutalized all over the place, and the big guys are getting the worst of it. At the same time, USA Today is coping with the travel market downturn. People buy it in airports and find it free right outside their hotel rooms. With fewer road warriors making the rounds, Gannett is feeling it.
From April through September, USA Today had an average daily circulation of 1.88 million, down 398,000 from the same period in 2008. The official stats are set to be published on October 26, 2009 by the Audit Bureau of Circulations. I doubt there will be much celebrating (at any newspaper).
What's amazing is that the travel industry is being blamed for this. Usually, the newspapers blame the internet.
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