U.S. newspaper circulation down 5 percent

Circulation is still dropping at U.S. newspapers.

Figures released Monday by the Audit Bureau of Circulations show average daily circulation fell 5 percent in the April-September period, compared with the same period a year earlier.

The latest decline was not as steep as the 8.7 percent drop seen in the previous reporting period, which ran from October 2009 through March of this year.

Sunday circulation fell 4.5 percent in the April-September period. That smaller than the 6.5 percent decline in the six months before that.

Several trends factor in the decline. There's the rise of free news on the Web. And publishers have been looking to offset losses in advertising revenue by raising newsstand and subscription prices. Some newspapers have reduced delivery to unprofitable areas.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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