International Encyclopedia of Communication Online

Extract

Circulation is the fundamental audience measure for print publications such as → newspapers and →  magazines . Its importance lies in the fundamental relationship between circulation and advertising rates in the business models of most print publications. Taking the US as an example, prior to 1830 US newspapers depended primarily on subscription revenues. Content was focused mainly on either politics or commerce, and subscriptions were expensive. Single copies of individual issues were generally only available to nonsubscribers at the publisher's office. In 1830, the US had only 65 daily newspapers with an average circulation of 1,200 copies, and total daily newspaper circulation was estimated to be 78,000 copies (→  Newspaper, History of ). In New York, the center of US newspaper publishing at that time, two publishers reinvented the newspaper business model. Benjamin Day, who founded the New York Sun in 1833, and James Gordon Bennett, who established the New York Herald in 1835, decided that by reducing the price of newspapers from the then prevalent six to eight cents per copy to a penny per copy, they could significantly increase the size of their audience (→  Penny Press ). With increased sales (or circulation), they would provide a more effective vehicle for advertisers and could, therefore, charge more for →  advertising (→  Advertising, History of ). Growing audience, ... log in or subscribe to read full text