Introduction About Newspapers

By Author: FIRELEAVES
Total Articles: 49
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In 1984, there were approximately 1,688 daily newspapers in the United States, with a combined circulation of 63,340,320. By 1997, that number had dropped to 1,520 dailies, with a combined circulation of 57,000,000. Competing with them for readers and advertising dollars were 7,214 weekly Tag Heuer Carrera Replica Watches newspapers, some distributed free of charge, with a combined circulation of 70,434,299. Almost all daily newspapers subscribe to a major wire service, with the result that much of the news they print, especially on national and international events, originates with the wire services.

Chain ownership of newspapers is on the increase. By 1995, 85 percent of the daily newspapers in the United States were owned by groups or chains rather than private companies or families. In spring 2000, Knight-Ridder owned thirty-one daily news-papers with a daily circulation of 9.2 million; Gannett owned the most—74 local newspapers and USA Today with a daily circulation of 6.7 million.70 Despite chain ownership, reliance on wire service materials, ...
... and ownership of other media outlets, newspapers are basically local media.

In May 1995, Editor & Publisher reported that "for the fourth consecutive six-month reporting period, most of the 25 biggest U.S. papers showed year-to-year circulation declines."Only 58.6 percent of U.S. adults report reading a newspaper daily; in 1970 that percentage was .6. But newspaper owners see some reason for optimism. In 1998, advertising revenues were $43.9 billion, up $2.6 billion from the preceding year.

To attract more readers, newspaper editors are trying various tactics to appeal to diverse audiences, including Hispanics, gays, and young people. The Miami Herald has added a weekly page of Brazilian news in Portuguese and a weekly page of Haitian news in Creole. Several newspapers are including special inserts targeted at younger readers. Newspaper chains are also interested in electronic publishing.

In response to what is perceived as a threat by computer companies and online ser-vices to the prominence of their role as providers of information, newspapers are joining the technological revolution. In April 1995, Gannett, Knight-Ridder, Times Mirror, and five other corporations, representing 185 Tag Heuer Replica newspapers, announced the formation of New Century Network. With this network, not only would the news and classified advertising of the newspapers of one city be available to customers in another, but services such as ordering tickets for sports and entertainment events across the country would also be accessible. "We believe it will change the face of the newspaper industry," said Peter Winter, interim head of the Network

By 1999, all the country's major newspapers were offering an online edition and were marketing to advertisers such features as the help wanted pages online.