Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Oregonian Falls Off Top 25 Newspaper List

The Oregonian is no longer ranked among the top 25 U.S. newspapers. The Alliance for Audited Media (AAM) stats for March 31, 2013, do not list the Oregon newspaper that has been a long time member of the top 25.  Last year the Oregonian was number 24 in September and number 21 in March.

I will post current data for the Oregonian when the Oregon newspaper totals come out in the coming week.

AAM reports that in the last year the average drop in newspaper daily circulation was 0.7% and that digital newspaper editions make up almost 1/5th (19.3%) of total circulation.
Daily circulation for the 593 U.S. newspapers reporting comparable averages for the March 2013 and March 2012 periods decreased 0.7 percent. Sunday circulation for the 519 newspapers reporting comparable data was down 1.4 percent.

Newspapers may include digital editions — tablet or smartphone apps, PDF replicas, metered or restricted-access websites, or e-reader editions — in their total circulation. Digital editions now account for 19.3 percent of U.S. daily newspapers’ total average circulation, up from 14.2 percent in March 2012.
 Here are AAM's top 25 newspaper daily and digital numbers:

Average Circulation at the Top 25 U.S. Daily Newspapers
 
Preliminary figures filed with AAM. Subject to audit.
 
Newspaper Name
Print
Total Digital
Total Average Circulation Excluding Branded
Total Branded Editions Print & Digital
Total Average Circulation
Percent Change
 
 
 
As of 03/31/13
As of 03/31/12
 
WALL STREET JOURNAL
1,480,725
898,102
2,378,827
 
2,378,827
2,118,315
12.3%
 
NEW YORK TIMES
731,395
1,133,923
1,865,318
 
1,865,318
1,586,757
17.6%
 
USA TODAY
1,424,406
249,900
1,674,306
 
1,674,306
1,817,446
-7.9%
 
LOS ANGELES TIMES
432,873
177,720
610,593
43,275
653,868
616,575
6.0%
 
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
360,459
155,706
516,165
 
516,165
579,636
-11.0%
 
NEW YORK POST
299,950
200,571
500,521
 
500,521
555,327
-9.9%
 
WASHINGTON POST
431,149
42,313
473,462
1,305
474,767
507,615
-6.5%
 
CHICAGO SUN-TIMES
184,801
77,660
262,461
208,087
470,548
421,780
11.6%
 
DENVER POST
213,830
192,805
406,635
10,041
416,676
401,120
3.9%
 
CHICAGO TRIBUNE
368,145
46,785
414,930
 
414,930
414,590
0.1%
 
DALLAS MORNING NEWS
190,613
65,912
256,525
152,740
409,265
405,349
1.0%
 
NEWSDAY
265,782
111,962
377,744
 
377,744
397,973
-5.1%
 
HOUSTON CHRONICLE
231,233
102,341
333,574
26,677
360,251
346,129
4.1%
 
ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
159,411
15,466
174,877
181,288
356,165
280,812
26.8%
 
NEWARK STAR-LEDGER
180,271
160,507
340,778
 
340,778
278,940
22.2%
 
TAMPA BAY TIMES
241,020
17,099
258,119
82,141
340,260
299,497
13.6%
 
CLEVELAND PLAIN DEALER
216,122
95,483
311,605
 
311,605
286,405
8.8%
 
PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER
184,827
67,958
252,785
54,046
306,831
325,289
-5.7%
 
MINNEAPOLIS STAR TRIBUNE
227,694
73,651
301,345
 
301,345
300,330
0.3%
 
ARIZONA REPUBLIC
285,927
7,048
292,975
665
293,640
321,600
-8.7%
 
HONOLULU STAR-ADVERTISER
125,726
68,993
194,719
73,525
268,244
209,915
27.8%
 
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL
126,293
15,996
142,289
109,758
252,047
259,247
-2.8%
 
SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE
192,782
21,569
214,351
36,327
250,678
230,578
8.7%
 
BOSTON GLOBE
172,048
73,524
245,572
 
245,572
225,482
8.9%
 
ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION
149,523
6,704
156,227
74,867
231,094
174,251
32.6%
 
*This list is based on combined daily average circulation. San Jose Mercury News is no longer included due to reduction in print frequency and elimination of its five-day average, as noted above.

Top 25 U.S. Daily Newspaper Digital Editions
Preliminary figures filed with AAM. Subject to audit.
Newspaper Name
Digital Replica
Digital Nonreplica
Total Digital
Total Average Circulation as of 03/31/13
NEW YORK TIMES
36,456
1,097,467
1,133,923
1,865,318
WALL STREET JOURNAL
 
898,102
898,102
2,378,827
USA TODAY
121,368
128,532
249,900
1,674,306
NEW YORK POST
1,559
199,012
200,571
500,521
DENVER POST
51,927
140,878
192,805
416,676
LOS ANGELES TIMES
36,802
140,918
177,720
653,868
NEWARK STAR-LEDGER
23,419
137,088
160,507
340,778
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
26,626
129,080
155,706
516,165
NEWSDAY
 
111,962
111,962
377,744
HOUSTON CHRONICLE
79,395
22,946
102,341
360,251
LOS ANGELES INVESTORS BUSINESS DAILY
45,288
51,418
96,706
157,161
CLEVELAND PLAIN DEALER
15,424
80,059
95,483
311,605
ST. PAUL PIONEER PRESS
66,499
17,601
84,100
208,280
DETROIT FREE PRESS
81,511
1,786
83,297
209,652
CHICAGO SUN-TIMES
28,798
48,862
77,660
470,548
MINNEAPOLIS STAR TRIBUNE
49,593
24,058
73,651
301,345
BOSTON GLOBE
13,390
60,134
73,524
245,572
HONOLULU STAR-ADVERTISER
16,149
52,844
68,993
268,244
PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER
41,803
26,155
67,958
306,831
DALLAS MORNING NEWS
65,912
 
65,912
409,265
SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE
33,672
27,698
61,370
218,987
SALT LAKE CITY DESERET NEWS
11,995
44,760
56,755
103,190
RIVERSIDE CO. PRESS-ENTERPRISE
36,556
13,250
49,806
137,581
CHICAGO TRIBUNE
20,541
26,244
46,785
414,930
MIAMI HERALD
42,150
3,949
46,099
147,130

Monday, April 29, 2013

If you wanna win

I compare the following Skip Bayless commentary with Shep Smith's inept put down of Tim Tebow on his afternoon news show. Shep disdainfully asked why wouldn't the Jets get rid of someone who did nothing on the field last year. Maybe Smith missed the 2011 season when Tebow was a starting quarterback and managed a lot more than the Jets in 2012 (with a very part-time, hardly playing, Tebow), and 1 more playoff win than the Broncos, with a great quarterback, in 2012.

Tebow pulled the Broncos out of an awful season opening of 1 win and 4 losses when he took over as starting quarterback in 2011. He took the Broncos 1 game deep into the post-season with a spectacular overtime win in the AFC wild card playoff with Pittsburgh on January 8, 2012.

By contrast, another of my favorites, Payton Manning, in 2012 had a great season, but no win in the playoffs with the Broncos.

Does this mean Tebow is as great as Manning? No. But, it does mean that Tebow has an amazing ability to win under adverse circumstances when he is the starting quarterback. Skip Bayless points out Tebow's ability to win and the fact that a good number of NFL teams with losing records could use a quarterback like that--if they really want to win.

 

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Thursday, April 25, 2013

11 Heroes Who Died March 21 to April 21, 2013

March 21 - Sgt. 1st Class James F. Grissom, 31, of Hayward, Calif., died at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, Germany, of wounds suffered from small arms fire March 18 in Paktika Province, Afghanistan.

March 22 - Sgt. Tristan M. Wade, 23, of Indianapolis, Ind., died in Qarah Bagh District, Ghazni Province, Afghanistan, when enemy forces attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device.

March 27 - Sgt. Michael C. Cable, 26, of Philpot, Ky., died from injuries sustained when his unit was attacked by enemy forces in Shinwar District, Nangarhar Province, Afghanistan.

March 29 - Chief Warrant Officer Curtis S. Reagan, 43, of Summerville, S.C., died in Kandahar, Afghanistan, from a non-combat related illness.

April 3 - Capt. James Michael Steel, 29, of Tampa, Fla., died in the crash of an F-16 near Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan.

April 6 - They died in Kandahar, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked their unit in Zabul, Afghanistan with a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device. Killed were:
- Staff Sgt. Christopher M. Ward, 24, of Oak Ridge, Tenn.,
- Spc. Wilbel A. Robles-Santa, 25, of Juncos, Puerto Rico, and
- Spc. Delfin M. Santos Jr., 24, of San Jose, Calif

April 19 - They died in Pachir Wa Agam District, Nangarhar province, Afghanistan. Killed were:
- Chief Warrant Officer Matthew P. Ruffner, 34, of Tafford, Pa., and
- Chief Warrant Officer Jarett M. Yoder, 26, of Mohnton, Pa

April 21 - Pfc. Barrett L. Austin, 20, of Easley, S.C., died in Landstuhl, Germany, of injuries sustained when his vehicle was attacked by an enemy improvised explosive device in Wardak Province, Afghanistan, April 17.

Monday, April 08, 2013

Margaret Thatcher (one of the great ones) 1925 - 2013

The legacy of Margaret Thatcher speaks for itself. She took Britain from a time of decline and looming bankruptcy to being a strong, world leader again. She did it by holding firmly to common sense, conservative principles. In National Review, Sarah Palin writes:
She put those beliefs into action. Like Reagan, she was a leader for whom word and deed were one and the same. A leader of a conservative think tank behind the Thatcher revolution famously said, “We were not interested in political office for the Conservative party. We were interested in power for them to get things done.” And that’s exactly what Thatcher did. While others in her party were interested in holding on to political office and overseeing “the orderly management of [Britain’s] decline,” she actually radically reformed a broken system and brought it back to free-market principles, leaving her country stronger, wealthier, and a leader in the world when just a decade before it had been dismissed as “the sick man of Europe.” Her push to privatize British industry and lower tax rates led to a substantial economic expansion and became a model for other countries shrugging off the yoke of socialism.
In the 1980's she and Ronald Reagan were bookends in defending the West and freedom which resulted in the fall of the Soviet Empire.

On a more personal level she saw truth even when it was covered with grit and grime. From Palin's Facebook page:

Wednesday, April 03, 2013

Oregonian: Not Enough Money to Pay Income Tax, But Plenty for Sales Tax

This weekend Oregonian editors noted that Oregon's liberal arts graduates not only earn less than other college graduates, but earn less in Oregon than liberal arts graduates earn in other states.

The editors declared that this means that Oregon's income tax-based government is bound to be underfunded at the current level. The fix they propose is a strange one. Not to pare down government services to fit the lower income level of Oregon college grads.* Nor to raise income tax rates on the lower earning college grads. The editors somehow feel that though lower paid liberal arts grads won't have enough money to pay more in (progressive tax) income taxes, they will have enough to pay the needed amount in (flat tax) sales taxes.
But those industries alone likely won't be enough to expand the tax base adequately to sate [Oregon's] appetite for government services.
. . .
The solution is not to encourage workers with liberal arts degrees to go elsewhere. Nor is it to suggest they should work harder. If Oregon wants to keep its soul and its budget both in equilibrium, it needs a better tax system -- one that isn't dependent on income that the city probably won't attract without an overhaul of both its image and its priorities.
. . .
But a sales tax goes against Oregon's progressive soul, you say? The evidence keeps mounting that without one the state will lose the ability to feed its soul.
Does this make any sense? If Oregonians aren't gaining enough to pay extra income taxes, where will they get the funds to pay extra sales taxes?

There is a good argument for switching from the graduated income tax to a flat sales tax (as Washington state funds its government). Everyone paying a flat tax rate means everyone has a stake in how government is run and feels an equal monetary pain when government services expand.** Additionally, there is the wonderful simplicity of figuring and paying the tax.

But to say that there is somehow more money available from the same monetary pool just by adding a new tax rather than raising an old tax is at best illusion and at worst deception.

True there are the funds that would be gained from out-of-state visitors, but that it would make little, if any, real difference is shown by the budget shortfalls that both Washington state ($2.7 billion) and Oregon ($1.7 billion) had to deal with in 2012. Washington's sales tax did not shield from budget woes.

A sales tax isn't the answer. It has not settled any state's income problem. It is a diversion from the real issue that needs to be addressed: rising government costs in a time of lower personal and family income. The lack of editorial comment on the real issue shows why the Oregonian continues to decline as a widely used source of news and commentary.
____
*Interesting that cutting government spending is exactly the fix the Oregonian editors suggest for Oregon's public pension deficit.

**Though it doesn't seem to make much of a practical difference in Washington's and Oregon's voting habits.