Newspaper Decline

"It's not enough anymore to give 'em just news. They want comics, contests, puzzles. They want to know how to bake a cake, win friends, and influence the future. Ergo horoscopes, tips on the horses, interpretations of dreams so they can win on the numbers lottery. And, if they accidently stumble on the front page, news!"
--Ed Hucheson (Deadline U.S.A.)

Interesting data here on newspaper trends. Was frankly surprised that the downtrends were not more severe--particularly w.r.t. number since the Internet era. Eyeballing it, it appears that number of daily newspapers is down by about 35% since 1920 and perhaps about 5% since 2000.

Circulation seems to show a more pronounced Internet Effect. After increasing more than doubling from 1920 to the 1970s and then holding steady for about twenty years, daily circulation has fallen by about 40%, with the downtrend getting steeper since 2000.

The article suggests the influence of regulation in insulating and hamstringing newspapers against competition and building capacity for adaptation. For example, FCC rules prohibit local newspapers from diversifying into local television markets, while permitting large media conglomerates to acquire local TV properties.

Stated differently, the decline of printed news has not been entirely self-imposed.