Newspapers and News Organizations Industry Profile

The US newspaper publishing industry includes about 2,000 companies with combined annual revenue of about $30 billion. Large companies include Gannett, McClatchy, Advance Publications, Tribune Company, The Washington Post, and The New York Times. The industry is highly concentrated: the top 50 companies control almost 80 percent of the market. Many of the larger companies also own and operate TV stations.

A few newspapers, including the The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and The New York Times, have daily circulation greater than 1 million, but most have circulation under 50,000. The combined daily circulation of US newspapers is just under 50 million.

COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE

The health of the economy drives both advertising and readership. The profitability of individual companies depends on marketing expertise, as most costs are fixed. Large companies benefit from economies of scale in sharing resources and by providing a range of outlets for advertisers. Small publishers can compete successfully by serving smaller markets. The industry is fairly labor-intensive: average annual revenue per employee is about $120,000.

PRODUCTS, OPERATIONS & TECHNOLOGY

Products include daily, weekly, monthly, and Sunday newspapers; Internet news services; and distribution services. Large circulation newspapers are usually produced daily; community newspapers are usually produced weekly. More than 70 percent of industry revenue comes from sales of advertising space ("advertising revenue"), and only about 20 percent from subscription and single-copy sales ("circulation revenue"). Some papers are controlled-circulation papers – they're free to a ...