Hartford Business Journal

12 Hartford Business Journal • January 21, 2019 • www.HartfordBusiness.com FOCUS Source: Alliance for Audited Media (AAM) quarterly data reports for the three months ending Sept. 30, 2018 unless otherwise indicated. Notes: All papers audited by AAM except The Chronicle, which is audited by Certified Audit of Circulations (CAC). All papers are audited biennially, with the exception of The Hartford Courant and affiliates, New Haven Register and affiliates and Republican-American. Daily average represents Monday-Friday unless otherwise indicated. The Bristol Press, New Britain Herald, The Record-Journal and The Register Citizen are not currently audited by Alliance for Audited Media and therefore not included in this list. (a) Digital represents the number of people who subscribe to the nonprint edition of the newspaper through tablet or smartphone apps, PDF replicas, metered or restricted-access websites or e-reader editions. (b) Includes Courant Community, an affiliated publication with 13,628 copies. (c) Previously known as tronc, Inc.; renamed Tribune Publishing Co. effective Oct. 9, 2018. (d) Includes affiliated publications as follows: Middletown Press with 1,667 copies, Shoreline Times with 7,997 copies and Milford Orange Bulletin with 6,080 copies. (e) Includes Middletown Press with 18 copies. (f) Includes affiliated publications as follows: Middletown Press with 1,367 copies and Sunday Plus with 12,936 copies. (g) Includes Middletown Press with 19 copies. (h) Data are for the three months ending June 30, 2018, the most recent available. (i) Represents average Saturday circulation; does not circulate on Sundays. —Compiled by Heide Martin. THE LIST Top daily newspapers in Connecticut Ranked by total daily circulation for the three months ending Sept. 30, 2018 Top daily newspapers in Connecticut (Ranked by total daily circulation for the three months ending Sept. 30, 2018) Average daily Average Sunday Rank Newspaper Total circulation Print/ Digital (a) Total circulation Print/ Digital (a) Publisher/ Title Owner Year established 1 The Hartford Courant and affiliate 285 Broad St. Hartford, CT 06115 860-241-6200; www.courant.com 74,513 73,893 (b) 620 109,428 108,808 620 Andrew Julien Publisher Tribune Publishing Co. (c) 1764 2 New Haven Register and affiliates 100 Gando Drive New Haven, CT 06513 203-789-5200; www.nhregister.com 33,728 33,434 (d) 294 (e) 43,768 43,473 (f) 295 (g) Paul Barbetta Group publisher & president Hearst Media Services, Connecticut 1812 3 Republican-American 389 Meadow St., P.O. Box 2090 Waterbury, CT 06722 203-574-3636; www.rep-am.com 31,078 30,031 1,047 35,496 34,457 1,039 William J. Pape II Editor & publisher American- Republican Inc. 1844 4 The Day 47 Eugene O'Neill Drive, P.O. Box 1231 New London, CT 06320 860-442-2200; www.theday.com 22,209 16,459 5,750 22,617 18,957 3,660 Patricia Richardson Publisher & president The Day Publishing Co. 1881 5 Journal Inquirer (h) 306 Progress Drive, P.O. Box 510 Manchester, CT 06045 800-237-3606; www.journalinquirer.com 22,160 22,090 70 23,762 (i) 23,691 71 Elizabeth S. Ellis Publisher Journal Inquirer Publishing Co. 1968 6 Connecticut Post and affiliates 1057 Broad St. Bridgeport, CT 06604 203-333-6688; www.ctpost.com 19,023 16,679 (j) 2,344 25,167 24,735 432 Paul Barbetta Group publisher & president Hearst Media Services, Connecticut 1883 7 The Bulletin 10 Railroad Place Norwich, CT 06360 860-887-9211; www.norwichbulletin.com 7,742 (k) 7,722 (k) 20 (k) 9,684 9,664 20 Nadine D. McBride Publisher GateHouse Media Inc. 1791 8 The News-Times 345 Main St. Danbury, CT 06810 877-542-6057; www.newstimes.com 7,607 (k) 6,406 (k) 1,201 (k) 9,661 9,365 296 Paul Barbetta Group publisher & president Hearst Media Services, Connecticut 1883 9 The Advocate 1055 Washington Blvd. 4,443 (k) 6,125 Paul Barbetta Hearst Media Top daily newspapers in Connecticut (Ranked by total daily circulation for the three months ending Sept. 30, 2018) Average daily Average Sunday Rank Newspaper Total circulation Print/ Digital (a) Total circulation Print/ Digital (a) Publisher/ Title Owner Year established 1 The Hartford Courant and affiliate 285 Broad St. Hartford, CT 06115 860-241-6200; www.courant.com 74,513 73,893 (b) 620 109,428 108,808 620 Andrew Julien Publisher Tribune Publishing Co. (c) 1764 2 New Haven Register and affiliates 100 Gando Drive New Haven, CT 06513 203-789-5200; www.nhregister.com 33,728 33,434 (d) 294 (e) 43,768 43,473 (f) 295 (g) Paul Barbetta Group publisher & president Hearst Media Services, Connecticut 1812 3 Republican-American 389 Meadow St., P.O. Box 2090 Waterbury, CT 06722 203-574-3636; www.rep-am.com 31,078 30,031 1,047 35,496 34,457 1,039 William J. Pape II Editor & publisher American- Republican Inc. 1844 4 The Day 47 Eugene O'Neill Drive, P.O. Box 1231 New London, CT 06320 860-442-2200; www.theday.com 22,209 16,459 5,750 22,617 18,957 3,660 Patricia Richardson Publisher & president The Day Publishing Co. 1881 5 Journal Inquirer (h) 306 Progress Drive, P.O. Box 510 Manchester, CT 06045 800-237-3606; www.journalinquirer.com 22,160 22,090 70 23,762 (i) 23,691 71 Elizabeth S. Ellis Publisher Journal Inquirer Publishing Co. 1968 6 Connecticut Post and affiliates 1057 Broad St. Bridgeport, CT 06604 203-333-6688; www.ctpost.com 19,023 16,679 (j) 2,344 25,167 24,735 432 Paul Barbetta Group publisher & president Hearst Media Services, Connecticut 1883 7 The Bulletin 10 Railroad Place Norwich, CT 06360 860-887-9211; www.norwichbulletin.com 7,742 (k) 7,722 (k) 20 (k) 9,684 9,664 20 Nadine D. McBride Publisher GateHouse Media Inc. 1791 8 The News-Times 345 Main St. Danbury, CT 06810 877-542-6057; www.newstimes.com 7,607 (k) 6,406 (k) 1,201 (k) 9,661 9,365 296 Paul Barbetta Group publisher & president Hearst Media Services, Connecticut 1883 9 The Advocate 1055 Washington Blvd. Stamford, CT 06901 203-324-9799; www.stamfordadvocate.com 5,149 (k) 4,443 (k) 706 (k) 6,384 6,125 259 Paul Barbetta Group publisher & president Hearst Media Services, Connecticut 1829 away some big-name Courant talent, including economic and political col- umnist Dan Haar, sports columnist Jeff Jacobs, and earlier this month, WNPR radio personality Colin McEnroe. Hearst owns the Connecticut Post and purchased its competitor, The New Haven Register, in 2017 along with two other Connecticut dailies, eight week- lies and Connecticut Magazine, giving it an aggregate readership of 850,000 households, which is the largest in the state, according to Matt DeRienzo, vice president of news and digital content for Hearst Connecticut Media Group. "We're acting our size, which is a pretty significant statewide news orga- nization," DeRienzo said of the recent hires. "For folks like Colin McEnroe, Jeff Jacobs, Dan Haar, I would imagine we are an attractive outlet for them because of the reach that we have." DeRienzo declined to comment about whether New York-based Hearst was interested in buying the Courant. Industry observers are closely watching how Tribune's search for a buyer plays out, and what it may mean for the Courant's future. Tribune is still talking to potential buyers after rejecting the bid from Mc- Clatchy last month, according to news reports. Other recent bidders include AIM Media Management, a Dallas-based newspaper publisher, and New York in- vestment firm Donerail Group. Tribune has also recently approached Gannett Co., owner of USA Today, about reviv- ing merger talks that fell through years earlier, the Wall Street Journal reported. "Everyone is rooting for the Courant to find a buyer who will invest in the news- gathering operation," said Quinnipiac's Hanley. "It's essential to the functioning of our democracy to have a paper of that caliber in the Capital City of the state." Duby McDowell, a former TV journal- ist and president of McDowell Jewett Communications, which runs The Laurel blog, said the best-case scenario would be "a local owner with deep pockets who has great respect for jour- nalistic independence." She cited recent newspaper acquisi- tions by "benevolent billionaires" such as Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos' purchase of the Washington Post. McDowell, who began working in the Hartford media market as a re- porter in the 1980s, said it's been dis- couraging to witness the diminishing staff at the newspaper over the years. "Maybe a white knight will come in and save the Hartford Courant," she said. Julien declined to comment on the prospect of local ownership, and insisted the recent departures and uncertainty wouldn't impact the high- quality, investigative and accountabil- ity journalism that are the foundation of the Courant brand. "Excellence has always been the hallmark of the Courant and it is still a hallmark of the Courant," he said. Hartford Courant print circulation Average daily (M-F) print circulation Average Sunday print circulation Quarter Subscribers % Change Quarter Subscribers % Change 3Q 2018 60,265 -14.9% 3Q 2018 108,808 -13.24% 3Q 2017 70,830 -11.1% 3Q 2017 125,419 -7.63% 3Q 2016 79,682 -10.6% 3Q 2016 135,774 -10.03% 3Q 2015 89,152 NA 3Q 2015 150,907 NA 2015 to 2018 differential 2015 to 2018 differential -28,887 -32.4% -42,099 -27.9% Source: Alliance for Audited Media >> A Daily's Dilemma continued

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