With circulation of the Los Angeles Times tumbling in the past two years, executives of the newspaper have argued that what counts is not quantity but quality meaning home delivery, which advertisers covet the most.
But an analysis of newspaper circulation by Prudential Equity Group LLC found that the Times lost more than 100,000 paid home-delivery subscribers between March 2004 and March 2005. The drop in home delivery was 18.1 percent the sharpest decline among the 10 largest U.S. newspapers.
The Times, which now has a daily circulation of just over 900,000, saw circulation increases in categories less sought after by advertisers discounted subscriptions, which jumped 69.8 percent, and hotel copies, which increased 121.1 percent, according to Prudential’s analysis of Audit Bureau of Circulations data.
Times executives have said they are working to pare less-profitable circulation categories such as Newspapers in Education, heavily discounted subscriptions and hotel copies. At the same time, the paper is looking to reverse the decline in home delivery, which accounts for more than half of the paper’s circulation and is more valuable to advertisers since people spend more time with those newspapers.
Times officials declined to comment on the Prudential report, referring questions to its parent company, Tribune Co. A Tribune spokesman, Gary Weitman, also declined to comment. He referred to a report in the trade publication Editor & Publisher, in which Tribune Publishing Vice President Vincent Casanova disputes Prudential’s methodology.
Casanova told E & P; that in compiling circulation-quality data for newspapers, Prudential assigned the same weight to small circulation categories such as employee copies as larger categories such as Newspapers in Education
KROQ Redux
Lisa Worden built the playlists at alternative-rock powerhouse KROQ-FM (106.7) when the genre still was riding high with platinum artists such as Pearl Jam, Soundgarden and Smashing Pumpkins.
Alternative rock is no longer the sales and ratings magnet it was when Worden arrived at KROQ in 1995, but Worden is returning to the station after a two-year stint as program director of a now-defunct alternative rock station in Washington, D.C.
The music director position at KROQ opened up after Matt Smith left for the sports station KLAC-AM (570), where Smith will be responsible for Los Angeles Lakers broadcasts. The alt-rock genre has lost some of its luster and KROQ has dropped in Arbitron rankings from fourth in the market in the spring quarter of 2004 to ninth in the spring of this year.
On the Links
For the most committed players, golf is more than a sport. It’s also a lifestyle, determining where people eat, the clothes they wear and even where they choose to live.
That’s the thinking behind Golf Living magazine, a new title from Angeles Publications, the L.A.-based magazine publishing division of Tribune Co., which also publishes the magazines Distinction and Bel-Air.
Golf Living is scheduled to debut Sept. 1 with an initial press run of 100,000, of which 90,000 copies will be delivered free to targeted households with incomes of $130,000 of greater. Published in Los Angeles, Golf Living will be distributed primarily to the Westside and South Bay areas of Los Angeles County; Orange County; northern San Diego County; and Santa Barbara County.
George Fuller, former editor of Links Magazine, will edit Golf Living. He said the new publication will focus on travel, spas, restaurants high-end real estate and golf personalities. “Golf Living is born out of a love for the game and the places it is played,” Fuller said.
A number of major titles are devoted in part to golf-related lifestyles, including Golf magazine and Golf Digest.
New Editor
Ron Kaye said he’ll embrace innovation and change as the new editor of the Los Angeles Daily News, which has not suffered the steep circulation declines afflicting many newspapers.
Kaye, an editor for the Woodland Hills-based paper since 1985 and managing editor since 1993 was promoted last week to the top job. He replaces David Butler, who was named editor and publisher of The Detroit News, which Daily News owner MediaNews Group Inc. just purchased.
Kaye did not outline specific plans, but hinted at a more experimental approach. “Everybody is trying to figure out how to move forward in a fast-moving information age,” he said. “I think journalists need to see there’s never been quite the opportunity there is now to reinvent what we do, to give life to the First Amendment and produce more interesting stories and products.”
The other part of Butler’s job vice president of news for the MediaNews Group-owned Los Angeles Newspaper Group was given to Steve Lambert, editor of the chain’s San Bernardino Sun.
Branching Out
Since one-time film studio executive Roger Schaffner founded Palisades Media Group Inc. in 1996, the Santa Monica-based ad agency has been known for its work with Hollywood.
While Schaffner isn’t disowning his Hollywood roots, he believes that Palisades Media Group’s future growth lies elsewhere. And so for the first time since founding the company, Schaffner is relinquishing the title of president.
The new president is Bruce Dennler, who began his career as a media planner in 1983 and most recently served as executive vice president and director of planning for the advertising agency Carat USA. Dennler’s expertise is with clients such as Procter & Gamble Co. rather than the movie studios.
Schaffner, who will remain chief executive and chairman of Palisades, said Dennler was brought on to go beyond entertainment clients, who still account for $350 million of the firm’s $550 million in annual billings.
“The next 10 years is going to be such an incredible change in our industry,” Schaffner said. “Those of us who adapt are going to be OK and those of us who don’t are going to be left behind.”
*Staff reporter James Nash can be reached by phone at (323) 549-5225, ext. 230, or by e-mail at
[email protected]
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