Media News - Tuesday, July 12, 2011 Newspaper circulation rises in South America, falls in the U.S., says the Economist

The average circulation for paid-for daily newspapers climbed by five percent in South America and fell by 11 percent in North America from 2005 to 2009, says the Economist magazine in a recent report that also connected the shifts in circulation to the rates of acceptance of social media. The penetration of social media in countries like the United States, parts of Europe, Japan and Australia were higher than in countries like Brazil and India where social media like Twitter and Facebook have yet to have the same impact. For example, the average circulation for paid-for U.S. newspapers between 2005 and 2009 dropped by 13.3 percent while Facebook was used by approximately 50 per cent of the population and Twitter by roughly 10 percent. In Brazil, the Economist reports, paid-for daily newspaper circulation rose by 20.7 percent but Facebook reaches approximately eight percent of the public and Twitter five percent. The Economist also reports that advertising revenue for U.S. paid-for newspapers is still in decline, a slide that started with the advent of television news, cable television and then exacerbated by the popularity of the Internet, media that pulled readers away from U.S. newspapers which are heavily dependent on advertising dollars.