The paid circulation of the Sunday Quad City Times fell below 60,000 in 2011, a 15 percent decline from five years ago.
According to figures from the Lee Enterprise, Inc. 10K (annual report) filings, paid circulation of the Sunday Quad City Times has fallen from 68,562 in 2007 to 59,482 in 2011. Ten years ago, the Sunday paper's circulation was just above 71,000.
Traditionally, Sunday circulation numbers are higher than weekdays with subscribers able to take only the Sunday paper, or a combined Saturday-Sunday package at a lower cost than a full weekday/Sunday subscription.
Less of a dropoff was reported for the daily (Monday through Friday average) paid circulation. Five years ago, the daily average reported by Lee for the QC Times was 50,604. The most recent 10K reported a decline to 45,360, a 10 percent drop.
The local decline in print newspaper circulation coincides with national trends as the Internet and the economy have cut into subscribers. Nationally, daily paid circulation has declined from 62.3 million in 1990 to 43.4 million in 2010.
To reflect its online audience through its various newspaper web sites, Lee has begun tracking the "reach" of the company's combined print and digital (online) products.
In its 2011 annual report, Lee said it estimates during an average week, its combined newspapers and digital products reach approximately 81 percent of the adults in the company's 12 top newspaper markets.
