USA Today Dealt New Losses

[bemildred]

Source: WSJ

USA Today President and Publisher Craig Moon announced his sudden retirement Tuesday, leaving the country's largest newspaper with its top two jobs unfilled during perhaps the most difficult stretch in its 27-year history. He also said the newspaper has lost about 100,000 subscribers just from the slowdown in travel.

Mr. Moon said in an interview that the slowdown has resulted in a reduction of more than 7% in the number of copies of USA Today distributed through partnerships with hotel chains such as Marriott, which account for more than half of its circulation.

The 59-year-old executive, who spent 23 years at parent company Gannett Co. and the last six as publisher of USA Today, has overseen a publication that has come under increasing economic pressure. Gannett expects ad revenue to fall by as much as 35% in the first quarter, Chief Financial Officer Gracia Martore said at an investor conference in March. Gannett executives also had said at the conference they were bracing for a significant circulation hit.

The 1.3 million daily copies distributed at hotels in the six months ending Sept. 28 accounted for more than half of USA Today's average weekday circulation of 2.3 million, according to the Audit Bureau of Circulations. ABC releases figures for the six months ending in March at the end of April.

Read more: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123854670808076289.html

[burning rain]

1. That's USA Today's claim to fame, alright,..

it's "America's free hotel newspaper"! What a crappy McRead; I sure don't rue any economic reversals it suffers, unlike a quality newspaper such as the New York Times.

[AndyTiedye]

2. Does "USA Today" Have any Real Subscribers?

Who would want it other than hotel guests? It isn't the local paper of anywhere.

[riverdale]

4. I am a subscriber

It's much better than my local paper.

[AndyTiedye]

5. That's Pretty Grim

[riverdale]

6. 1

Those of us in flyover country are not as privileged as you, tie dye

[Bill McBlueState]

7. that's a good point

If you want a newspaper on your doorstep every morning, your choices in much of the country are USA Today or 16 pages of high school sports, LTTEs from morons, and ads. A lot of people would justifiably choose the former.

[Canuckistanian]

3. A loss? To whom?

I feel for the employees, but USA Today was never an influential paper.

It was more like an immigrant's introduction to American news, full of nice graphs and visual aids.