Newspaper circulation
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A newspaper's circulation is the number of copies it distributes on an average day. It is one of the principal factors used to set advertising rates. Circulation is not always the same as copies sold, often called paid circulation, since some newspapers are distributed without cost. Readership figures are usually higher than circulation figures because of the assumption that a typical copy of the newspaper is read by more than one person.
In many countries, circulations are audited by independent bodies such as the Audit Bureau of Circulations to assure advertisers that a given newspaper does indeed reach the number of people claimed by the publisher.
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[edit] World newspapers with the largest circulation
The World Association of Newspapers (WAN) publishes a list of newspapers with the largest circulation. In 2005, China topped the list in term of total newspaper circulation with 93.5 million a day, India came second with 78.8 million, followed by Japan, with 70.4 million; the United States, with 48.3 million; and Germany, with 22.1 million. Around 75% of the 100 best selling newspapers are in Asia and seven out of top ten are Japanese newspapers. [1]
The Japanese Yomiuri Shimbun, Asahi Shimbun, and Mainichi Shimbun are still the best-selling newspapers in the world. Germany's Bild became the only entry in the top ten from Europe. Cankao Xiaoxi (參考消息) is the most popular paper in China. The highest selling from the United States is USA Today, which is 13th in the world.
According to the Guinness Book of Records, the daily circulation of the Soviet newspaper Trud exceeded 21,500,000 in 1990, while the Soviet weekly Argumenty i fakty boasted the circulation of 33,500,000 in 1991.
[edit] Individual countries
[edit] India
The 2006 National Readership Survey findings show the largest read local language newspapers to be Dainik Jagran (with 21.2 million readers) and Dainik Bhaskar (with 21.0 million readers), both published in Hindi. The Times of India is the most widely read English newspaper (7.4 million) , followed by The Hindu (4.05 million), and Hindustan Times (3.85 million).
[edit] Japan
The 2004 circulation figures for the morning editions of Japan's five largest newspapers: Yomiuri Shimbun, 10,077,410; The Asahi Shimbun 8,284,513; Mainichi Shimbun, 3,957,410; Nihon Keizai Shimbun, 3,009,253; Sankei Shimbun, 2,086,391 [2]
[edit] United Kingdom
Best-selling papers as of July 2, 2006, according to the Audit Bureau of Circulations, [3] are News of the World, 3,471,415; The Sun, 3,148,700 and The Daily Mail, 2,340,255.
[edit] United States
The heyday of the newspaper industry was the 1940s, but the percentage of Americans reading newspapers began to decline with the increased competition from radio and television. A growing population helped the absolute circulation numbers continue to increase until the 1970s, where it remained stable until the 1990s, which absolute circulation numbers began declining.
Newspaper circulation numbers are reported to the Audit Bureau of Circulations. Best-selling papers as of September 30, 2006 in the U.S.A., according to the Audit Bureau of Circulations, [4] are USA Today, 2,549,695; The Wall Street Journal, 2,074,127 and The New York Times, 1,623,697.
See List of newspapers in the United States by circulation
[edit] Canada
The most widely read paper in the country is the Toronto Star, which, as of the six-month period ending on March 31, 2006, averaged 640,367 copies sold on Saturday, 435,650 Monday to Friday, and 439,982 on Sunday. [5] The second most widely read paper is Toronto-based national newspaper The Globe and Mail, which averaged 410,266 copies on Saturdays, and 320,835 Monday to Friday. The most widely read French-language newspaper is Le Journal de Montréal, which averaged 314,575 copies on Saturday, 266,835 Monday to Friday, and 261,375 on Sunday. It should be noted that unlike in the United States, newpapers in Canada published their biggest and mostly widely read editions on Saturdays, and that most papers don't publish on Sundays.
