Mike Jacobs is the editor of the Grand Forks (N.D.) Herald. He chairs the ASNE Small Newspapers Committee.

Ten things every editor should know about circulation

NEWSPAPERS RISE AND FALL WITH circulation — so it seemed appropriate to ask a circulation director what editors should know about the number.

Here's a Top 10 list from Dawn Zimney, who has been in circulation sales since 1986. Since 2000, she has been circulation director of the Grand Forks (N.D.) Herald.

1 The Audit Bureau of Circulation — known as ABC — is the elephant in most circulation departments. Although audits are voluntary, they give newspapers credibility with national advertisers. ABC currently audits 886 daily newspapers, more than half the total published in the United States.

The rules governing these audits are exhaustive, complicated and confusing, at least from the point of view of circulation departments.

2 The ABC board has 36 members. Nineteen represent advertisers. Only 17 represent publishers, and these are split between newspaper and magazine publishers. The lopsided membership is seen as adding credibility to the numbers.

3 Under current rules, a sale counts only if a newspaper gets 25 percent of its basic price. A new rule taking effect April 1, 2009, makes a significant change, lowering the price to a penny. This brings U.S. rules into sync with rules governing circulation in Canada. This is a good thing for newspapers, of course, because it means circulation departments can be more creative about pricing, including offering steeper discounts to build circulation numbers.

4 Another significant change also takes effect April 1. This removes a requirement that newspapers of less than 50,000 circulation be audited on a day-of-week basis. Instead, the audit will be on a weekly average.

As a result, a poor Monday — typically a day of little interest to advertisers and often the thinnest issue of the week — will not hurt overall circulation if heftier papers later in the week bring up the average. Of course, these days are often more attractive to advertisers, and so news hole is bigger and content is often stronger.

5 Newspapers of less than 50,000 circulation will be audited every other year rather than annually — lowering stress levels in circulation departments and saving at least a little money.

6 ABC also reports the number of households that receive a newspaper in a particular ZIP code. This is called “penetration.”

Newsrooms should pay attention to this number. Coverage of news or feature stories from a poor ZIP code likely won't have much impact on circulation unless it's of broad general interest. But chasing the story depletes newsroom resources that might be better deployed in areas where penetration is greater.

7 ABC does provide information about pass-along readership and projects the number of readers per copy of the newspaper. It also can provide numbers about readership frequency and online readership.

But all of this costs extra.

8 Newspapers can dump copies at events, but they must be paid for — probably by an event sponsor — in order to be counted. Rules governing these so-called “third-party sales” are very strict, and often they can't be counted as paid circulation.

9 Circulation departments often put a lot of effort into Newspaper in Education programs, which put newspapers in school classrooms. These copies are counted, but they are reported separately, and advertisers often aren't interested. But NIE copies are important because they help develop the newspaper habit among young people. The newsroom can help by remembering that young, impressionable eyes see the paper every day.

10 Online readership counts — but only if you charge for online content. Complete stories posted before the presses run will lead readers away from the printed product. But good, short synopses of stories that direct readers to pick up the newspaper can help circulation.

While these 10 points can't and never should dictate all the newsroom's decisions, editors should keep them in mind. At the very least, that will guarantee good relations with the circulation department, and at best it will help grow circulation. *