The report the Audit Bureau of Circulations released earlier this week shows increase in papers’ revenues throughout the country. Columbia Tribune’s General Manager Andy Waters says that paper’s revenue is up as well.
“Our total circulation including online subscriptions increased in the neighborhood of 20 percent, for both weekday and Sunday,” Waters said.
The idea that the pay walls are not undercutting subscription numbers is a promising sign for media professionals. The head of the Leadership and Management Programs at the Poynter Institute Jill Geisler says the new data may show that the newspaper industry is on the right track to recovery.
“Everyone would like to see a sustained amount of growth, but these are early indication that combining digital and traditional product with people’s ability to select and to pay for quality journalism is proving to have some results,” Geisler said.
Newspaper executives also hope that increase in subscription spending is a sign of overall economic improvement.