Despite positive reports on the online front, this success has occurred during a time when
overall newspaper sales, advertising revenue, and readership are declining. USA Today has recently
faced a reported 14.3 percent decline in publishing advertising revenues, a 20 percent drop in classified
advertising revenues, and, even more damaging, an 18.4 percent decrease in paid ad pages.
Operationally, combining these declines with sharp increases in newsprint costs, which caused USA
Today to increase its single-copy price to $1.00 from 75 cents, results in a slippery slope for “The
Nation’s Newspaper.” In fact, in late 2009, the Audit Bureau of Circulations reported declines in
circulation for 24 of the top 25 newspapers in the United States. The Wall Street Journal , which
managed a 0.6 percent gain, was the only exception. USA Today reported a 17 percent drop in
circulation, partly due to the slump in tourism during the economic recession, and cutbacks by several
hotels no longer offering free newspapers to guests. Consequently, when the final circulation figures
were released in late 2009, The Wall Street Journal had eclipsed USA Today as the country’s largest
newspaper by weekday circulation.