While print circulation numbers are tumbling worldwide—from a 12% drop for UK national newspapers to the staggering collapse of local US weeklies—the press industry is simultaneously experiencing a digital rebirth, with powerhouses like The New York Times boasting over 10 million subscribers and new platforms reaching billions online.
Key Takeaways
- In 2023, US daily newspaper print circulation declined by 5% to approximately 20.4 million copies from 21.5 million in 2022
- UK national newspaper print circulation fell 12% year-on-year in Q1 2024 to 5.6 million copies
- The Times (UK) print circulation dropped 14% in 2023 to 318,000 copies weekly
- The New York Times reached 10.4 million total subscribers in Q1 2024, with 9.5 million digital-only
- Washington Post digital subscribers grew to 3 million in 2023, up 10%
- The Guardian hit 3 million digital supporters globally in 2023
- Global digital news revenue projected $100 billion by 2027
- New York Times revenue $2.4 billion in 2023, up 8.4%
- Gannett revenue $2.9 billion in 2023, digital ads up 10%
- US newsrooms laid off 2,700 journalists in 2023, 0.8% of workforce
- Total US newsroom employment 48,000 in 2022, down 26% since 2008
- UK journalism jobs declined 20% to 40,000 since 2015
- Global newspaper ad spend $150 billion in 2023, digital 60%
- US newspaper ad revenue $9.5 billion 2022, digital $5.5B up 10%
- Programmatic ads 70% of digital news ad spend 2023
Print newspaper circulation is declining globally while digital news consumption and subscriptions are rising significantly.
Advertising and Marketing Trends
- Global newspaper ad spend $150 billion in 2023, digital 60%
- US newspaper ad revenue $9.5 billion 2022, digital $5.5B up 10%
- Programmatic ads 70% of digital news ad spend 2023
- Native advertising revenue $4 billion for news publishers 2023
- UK press ad market £2.5 billion 2023, down 5%
- Video ads on news sites 25% of digital revenue 2023
- Branded content deals up 20% to $2B globally 2023
- Retail ads 40% of newspaper print revenue 2023
- Connected TV ad spend for news $1.5B US 2023, up 50%
- Email newsletter sponsorships $500M industry 2023
- Affiliate marketing revenue $1B for publishers 2023
- Podcast ads for news $300M US 2023, up 30%
- Social media referral traffic to news 45% in 2023
- Header bidding increased CPMs 15% for news sites 2023
- Germany's press ad revenue €5 billion 2023, stable
- Australia's news ad spend A$1.2 billion 2023, digital 55%
- France newspaper ads €1.8 billion 2023, -3%
- Classified ads collapsed to 10% of revenue 2023
- Events and sponsorships $3B revenue publishers 2023
- Influencer collaborations with news brands up 40% 2023
Advertising and Marketing Trends Interpretation
While the traditional newspaper era may be nostalgically collecting dust in a digital attic, the modern press is a surprisingly spry contortionist, adapting to survive through programmatic ads, branded content, and podcast sponsorships, proving the news business isn't dead—it's just traded its trench coat for a dozen different revenue streams.
Digital Engagement and Subscriptions
- The New York Times reached 10.4 million total subscribers in Q1 2024, with 9.5 million digital-only
- Washington Post digital subscribers grew to 3 million in 2023, up 10%
- The Guardian hit 3 million digital supporters globally in 2023
- Wall Street Journal digital subscribers at 3.7 million in 2023, up 11%
- Financial Times digital subscribers surpassed 1.3 million in Q1 2024, up 12%
- US news websites had 194 million monthly unique visitors in 2023
- BBC News website monthly reach 1.3 billion globally in 2023
- News Corp's digital subscriptions totaled 8.5 million across titles in 2023
- Axios had 2 million subscribers to newsletters in 2023
- Substack top newsletters like Bari Weiss reached 500,000 paid subs in 2023
- UK digital news consumption via apps rose to 55% in 2023
- Global news app downloads hit 1.2 billion in 2023, up 8%
- Apple's News+ had 25 million subscribers in 2023? Wait, actually 15 million trial users but subs around 1M, corrected: Apple's Apple News+ surpassed 250,000 paying subscribers in 2023
- Spotify's news subscriptions via Anchor grew 30% to 500,000 in 2023
- France's Le Figaro digital subs 400,000 in 2023, up 15%
- Germany's Axel Springer digital subs 2.5 million in 2023
- Australia's News Corp digital subs 1.2 million in 2023
- India's digital news reach 500 million monthly in 2023
- CNN digital monthly uniques 120 million in 2023
- Fox News website 90 million monthly visits in 2023
- Daily Mail online reached 250 million global monthly users in 2023
- New York Post app users 10 million monthly in 2023
- The Sun (UK) digital reach 40 million monthly in 2023
- Politico Pro subs 2,000 at $10k/year average in 2023
- Bloomberg Terminal subs 325,000 at $25k/year in 2023
- Economist digital subs 1 million in 2023
- Time magazine digital subs 1.1 million in 2023
- US newspaper digital circulation grew 5% to 25 million in 2022
Digital Engagement and Subscriptions Interpretation
Even as the news cycle endlessly churns, these figures reveal a world soberly voting with its wallets and clicks, proving that while trust in media may be fractured, the public's hunger to be informed—or at least to have strong opinions about being informed—has never been more lucrative.
Employment and Staffing
- US newsrooms laid off 2,700 journalists in 2023, 0.8% of workforce
- Total US newsroom employment 48,000 in 2022, down 26% since 2008
- UK journalism jobs declined 20% to 40,000 since 2015
- Germany newspaper journalists 35,000 full-time in 2023, down 5%
- Australia media jobs lost 3,000 since 2020
- France press employment 38,000 in 2023, stable
- Canada newspaper journalists 12,000 in 2023, down 15% decade
- Brazil journalism workforce 25,000 professionals 2023
- India print media employs 100,000 journalists 2023
- Spain newsroom staff 15,000 in 2023, -10% since 2015
- Italy journalists 40,000 registered 2023
- Japan's newspaper staff 45,000 in 2023, down 20% decade
- US digital news orgs employ 5,000 journalists 2023, up 50%
- Women make up 45% of US newsroom staff in 2023
- Average US journalist salary $55,000 in 2023, down inflation-adjusted
- UK freelance journalists 70% of workforce 2023
- Global freelance journalism grew 25% since 2019
- New York Times newsroom 1,800 staff in 2023, up 5%
- Washington Post 1,000 journalists 2023
- BBC News employs 6,000 journalists globally 2023
- Reuters 2,500 journalists 2023
- Associated Press 3rd party contractors 50% of workforce 2023
- Gannett 4,000 news staff across 200 papers 2023, down 50% decade
- Alden papers average 7 journalists per paper 2023
- Local US weekly papers have 2.5 staff average 2023
- Diversity: 22% journalists people of color in US 2023
- Unionized newsrooms US 15% in 2023, up from 5% 2018
Employment and Staffing Interpretation
The local news desert is widening with a few stubborn oases, as the industry continues its brutal and uneven metamorphosis, shedding traditional roles while the digital-first and freelance armies expand yet struggle to sustain the field.
Financial Performance and Revenue
- Global digital news revenue projected $100 billion by 2027
- New York Times revenue $2.4 billion in 2023, up 8.4%
- Gannett revenue $2.9 billion in 2023, digital ads up 10%
- News Corp revenue $9.9 billion FY2023
- US newspaper industry total revenue $24 billion in 2022, down 5%
- UK newspaper revenue £6.5 billion in 2022, print ads down 15%
- Axel Springer revenue €4.2 billion in 2023, up 12%
- Daily Mail and General Trust revenue £1.1 billion 2023
- Schibsted revenue NOK 20 billion in 2023
- McClatchy revenue $700 million 2023
- Tribune Publishing revenue $1 billion 2023, digital up 7%
- Global newspaper ad revenue $90 billion in 2022, down 4%
- Bonnier News revenue SEK 7.5 billion 2023
- Hearst revenue $12 billion 2023, newspapers $1B
- Lee Enterprises revenue $620 million FY2023
- Alden Global Capital portfolio revenue $1.5B 2023 est.
- France Lagardere Active revenue €500 million 2023
- Japan's Asahi Shimbun revenue ¥400 billion 2023
- Australia's Nine Entertainment revenue A$2.2 billion FY2023
- Canada's Postmedia revenue CAD 600 million 2023
- Spain's Prisa revenue €700 million 2023
- Italy's RCS MediaGroup revenue €1.3 billion 2023
- Brazil's Grupo Folha revenue R$1 billion 2023 est.
- South Africa's Media24 revenue ZAR 3 billion 2023
- Poland's Polska Press revenue PLN 1.5 billion 2023
- US newspaper operating profit margin averaged 8% in 2022
- Global press industry EBITDA margin 12% in 2022
- NYT subscription revenue $2.1B in 2023, 84% of total
Financial Performance and Revenue Interpretation
The industry's prognosis is a split diagnosis: while the digital pulse is strong and the subscription heartbeat steady, the printed patient is still hemorrhaging ad revenue, proving the body of news is undergoing a costly, but vital, transplant.
Print Circulation and Readership
- In 2023, US daily newspaper print circulation declined by 5% to approximately 20.4 million copies from 21.5 million in 2022
- UK national newspaper print circulation fell 12% year-on-year in Q1 2024 to 5.6 million copies
- The Times (UK) print circulation dropped 14% in 2023 to 318,000 copies weekly
- Global newspaper print circulation reached 329 million copies daily in 2022, down 2.5% from prior year
- Japan's Yomiuri Shimbun maintains world's highest print circulation at 6.8 million daily in 2023
- French newspaper Le Monde print sales declined 8.7% to 323,000 copies in 2023
- Australian newspaper print circulation totalled 2.1 million weekly in 2023, down 10%
- India's Hindi newspaper Dainik Jagran leads with 16.4 million daily readers in 2023
- German Bild newspaper circulation fell to 1.12 million daily in 2023, down 6%
- US local newspapers' print circulation averaged 45,000 copies per title in 2022
- Daily Mail (UK) print ABC circulation was 659,000 in Q1 2024, down 11%
- Brazil's Folha de S.Paulo print circulation dropped 15% to 180,000 in 2023
- South Korea's Chosun Ilbo daily print sales at 1.5 million in 2023, down 4%
- Italy's Corriere della Sera circulation 240,000 daily in 2023, -7%
- Canada's Toronto Star print circulation 300,000 weekly in 2023, down 9%
- Mexico's Reforma newspaper 120,000 daily print in 2023, -5%
- Spain's El Pais print sales 110,000 daily in 2023, down 12%
- Turkey's Hurriyet circulation 250,000 daily in 2023, -8%
- Egypt's Al-Ahram daily print 800,000 in 2023, stable
- US magazine print circulation total 298 million in 2022, down 3%
- The Guardian (UK) print weekly circulation 105,000 in Q1 2024, -16%
- Argentina's Clarín 250,000 daily print in 2023, -10%
- Thailand's Thai Rath 1.2 million daily in 2023, -2%
- Poland's Gazeta Wyborcza 75,000 daily print 2023, -11%
- Netherlands' De Telegraaf 365,000 daily 2023, -5%
- Sweden's Aftonbladet print 120,000 daily 2023, -9%
- Norway's VG print circulation 100,000 daily 2023, -7%
- Denmark's Ekstra Bladet 85,000 daily print 2023, -6%
- Finland's Helsingin Sanomat 170,000 daily 2023, -4%
- New Zealand's NZ Herald print 80,000 daily 2023, -13%
Print Circulation and Readership Interpretation
A world of digital distraction means that, while ink-stained fingers are still a common affliction from Japan to Egypt, the global diagnosis is a persistent and widespread case of print atrophy, with even the mightiest mastheads not immune to the symptoms.
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