Newspaper & Mailroom

The Press-Enterprise Company Sees Ninth Largest Audience Increase in U.S.

Monday 03. November 2008 - The Press-Enterprise Company filed its Publisher's Statement for the six-month period ending Sept. 30, 2008, with the Audit Bureau of Circulation (ABC) on Oct. 15, 2008. The company reported an audience of 925,128, a growth of 5.6% compared to the same period in 2007. The increase represents the ninth largest audience increase in the country for this reporting period.

For paid circulation, print and online, The Press-Enterprise reported 149,608 for Monday through Friday, 151,338 for Saturday and 160,016 for Sunday. While the paid circulation showed declines of 7.5% for Monday through Friday, 9.0% for Saturday and 6.5% for Sunday, the erosion was expected as the company executed several initiatives focused on improving quality of circulation and financial performance in the wake of the economic challenges.

Year-over-year comparisons reflect the elimination of all bonus days, minimal third-party sales activity, elimination of the Sunday TV book, a small pullback from outlying distribution areas, and pricing actions in both the home delivery and single copy distribution channels taken in the second quarter.

In June, in response to consumers’ desire for more local news, The Press-Enterprise launched Local Plus in its four-zone model. The reporting period also showed a significant increase in the P-Edition, the exact replica edition of the newspaper online.

“We have re-defined the audience discussion at this company,” says Ron Redfern, publisher and chief executive officer of The Press-Enterprise. “We have successfully augmented our reach by aggregating readership across multiple multimedia products. We also have delivered to our audience more of what it says matters most: local news.

“This strategy has produced a highly engaged readership base, which translates into an improved return on investment for our advertisers.”