Romel Griffin, of Providence, reads a daily newspaper religiously. Griffin reads the major stories first, and works his way through to the smaller ones. By the end of the day he is on to the television listings – and then he is done.
The newspaper industry is not going to lose Griffin. Not to television news, not to radio and certainly, not to the Internet.
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“I’m not going to have a laptop on the bus,” said Griffin, as he paused while reading last Tuesday’s edition of the Providence Journal at the Arcade in downtown Providence. “I like to read the local newsI like to see what Mayor Cianci is doing in the North End of Providence. I’d be naked without a paper.”
Griffin, 50, is old school.
“I’m an old dog,” said Griffin. “It’s hard to teach me new tricks.”
He grew up in St. Louis, which he described as a “real newspaper town at the time.”
“I’ve been reading a paper all my life,” he said. “I remember buying it for three cents a day. I was raised on a paper. It keeps me caring.”
The newspaper industry could use a huge dose of Romel Griffin. Not everyone is buying newspapers like they used to. It is the one concern that can be equally shared by the publisher, editor and advertising director.
What if they go somewhere else for the news? What if they simply do not have the time to read the in-depth feature story anymore? How will they notice the ads if they don’t buy the paper?
The circulation numbers at daily newspapers throughout America are not good. And New England – despite a steep tradition for dedicated newspaper readership – is not immune to the trend. While the drop in newspaper readership may not suggest a crisis, it is at least reason for concern.
In today’s fast-paced society, where breaking news can be delivered with the flick of a computer switch, the newspaper industry has legitimate reason to fear losing its consumers to television, radio and the Internet.
Jack Authelet, of Foxboro, is a retired weekly newspaper editor who for much of the past decade published a trade journal for the newspaper industry. Authelet does not place the blame for declining newspaper circulation on the soaring popularity of the Internet. Society, he said, must accept a lion’s share of responsibility.
For example, Authelet said, how many people see a story detailing a famine in Sudan or fighting in the Balkans and pass right by – devoting little or no time to digesting real news.
“We are so desensitized to human suffering,” Authelet said. “The problem is as much with society as it is with newspapers. Society has really been dumbed down.”
And it is a society that seems to be satisfied with the quick fix – damning the detail.
“I think newspapers were in decline anyway, before the Internet,” Authelet said. “So many people in today’s society are content to accept what they get from television. That gives them a very narrow slice of the news. It’s a disturbing trend.”
Whatever the reason, circulation numbers show a disturbing trend. According to the Audit Bureau of Circulation, of Schaumburg, Illinois, paid circulation throughout daily newspapers in New England has declined fairly steadily. For example;
At the Sun Chronicle, in Attleboro, Massachusetts, daily circulation as of March of 1999 was 22,374. In March of 1994, the paper had 23,795 daily readers. As of March 1989, it had 24,547 readers each day.
At the Boston Globe, daily circulation as of 1999 was 469,311. In March of 1994, the paper – reaching its highest point during the past decade — had 500,337 daily readers. As of March 1989, it had 480,199 readers each day.
At the Boston Herald, daily circulation as of March 1999 was 262,317. In March of 1994, the paper had 312,779 daily readers. As of March 1989, it had 360,046 readers each day.
At the Patriot Ledger, in Quincy, daily circulation as of March 1999 was 74,308. In March of 1994, the paper had 86,955 daily readers. As of March 1989, it had 87,123 readers each day.
At the Herald News in Fall River, daily circulation as of March 1999 was 26,091. In March of 1994, the paper had 33,420 daily readers. As of March 1989, it had 36,994 readers each day.
At the Providence Journal, daily circulation as of March 1999 was 164,626. In March of 1994, the paper had 185,578 daily readers. As of March 1989, it had 199,507 readers each day.
At the Woonsocket Call, daily circulation as of March 1999 was 17,091. In March of 1994, the paper had 25,238 daily readers. As of March 1989, it had 28,927 readers each day.
But the numbers can be deceiving, according to Howard G. Sutton, publisher of the Providence Journal. Sutton said readership at his paper has remained constant during the past decade.
“We have seen a decrease in net circulation, because we have seen more pass-along readers,” he said.
Sutton points out that the Providence/New Bedford market is ranked among the top five in the country for newspaper readership. And, he said, three of the top five readership markets are in New England. Sutton’s point is simple. Consumers – particularly in New England – are reading newspapers as much as ever.
Sutton said page views on projo.com, the paper’s web site, are rising steadily, but he does not see that as having a negative impact on readership.
“It doesn’t seem to be at the risk of our subscribers,” said Sutton. “I see it as more value added.”
Steven DeAngelis, research director at the Providence Journal Company, conducts a readership study every year – and has done so since 1980.
“What we have seen on the daily side is that readership has stayed stable,”DeAngelis said. “People read newspapers all over the place, not just at home. Because of the nature of daily newspaper readership, there are a lot of opportunities to read the paper.”
DeAngelis calls the Northeast a “stronghold for newspaper readership.”
“Typically, someone from Providence has been here all their lives,” he said. “They are involved in the community.”
Some newspaper trends can be best measured at any of the various news stands throughout the state.
JoAnn Teixeria – along with her sister and a friend — has owned Duffy’s Newstand on Hope Street in Bristol for two years. Teixeria still sells newspapers consistently. There are die-hard sports fans, she said, who pick up a Boston Globe every day and the “old timers” who reserve a paper faithfully. She is also selling financial papers on a more regular basis, she said.
But Teixeria is not totally surprised to hear that overall daily newspaper readership is down.
“I think there has been so much junk, so much gossipy stuffso much that doesn’t mean anything – people just get disgusted,” said Teixeria.
So what should they do? While the actual readership numbers may be subject for debate, the circulation numbers are not. They are falling. Period.
Authelet believes newspapers need to reconnect with their readers. He hopes it’s not too late. But he isn’t so sure.
“They have to be a lot more sensitive to the reader,” said Authelet. “You would like to think there is still an audience out there for the thoughtful, insightful piecebut I wonder.”
Romel Griffin said that if the daily newspaper were to double its price, he would still buy it. Every day. But the newspaper industry doesn’t have to worry about Griffin. It’s got to worry about all those folks watching the nightly news and feeling satisfied. It has to worry about those folks that just don’t seem to care anymore.
Authelet is left to wonder.
“We saw the best of times,” said Authelet. “We just didn’t know it.”
