The Declining Newspaper and Why I Cancelled the WSJ

Yesterday I joined the ever growing club - with thousands of new members daily - of those that cancel their newspaper subscriptions. My victim, The Wall Street Journal. The funny thing about my entrance into this club, the WSJ is one of the few papers that actually experienced any sort of growth in their circulation numbers over the past year or so. Rupert Murdoch, who owns the Journal, may very well be one of the only paper moguls sleeping with a smile at night.

, the leading reporter of print circulation, released a report stating that US daily newspaper circulation is down 3.6% (as of March 31) with the Sunday circulation down even more at 4.6% compared to a year ago. In 2000, the newspaper industry enjoyed revenues in the neighborhood of $49b, today they hover around $42b, still loads of greenbacks, but far below what they once were. With overall ad spending following a similar route, one has to wonder how long the traditional newspaper can stay afloat?