Baltimore Sun and Washington Post show steep declines in print circulation, states new report
Print circulation continued its steep decline across the U.S. newspaper industry in early 2026, with The Baltimore Sun and The Washington Post recording two of the largest drops among the nation’s 50 biggest audited newspapers, states a Citybiz post.
According to Citybiz: “New figures from the Alliance for Audited Media, supplied to Press Gazette, show that average daily print circulation across the 50 newspapers fell a combined 15% year over year during the six months ended March 31, 2026.
“Only one newspaper in the group — Florida’s Villages Daily Sun — managed to increase its print circulation from a year earlier.”
Key Takeaways
- The Baltimore Sun: Average daily print circulation fell 24.9% to 11,800, the largest year-over-year decline among the 50 newspapers.
- The Washington Post: Print circulation dropped 23.9% to 77,900, the third-largest decline.
- Minnesota Star Tribune: Circulation declined 24.2% to 54,800, ranking second for the largest percentage drop.
- Villages Daily Sun: The Florida newspaper was the only title among the 50 to post year-over-year growth, rising 1.7% to 54,900.
- Industrywide: The 50 newspapers averaged a combined 1.99 million print copies per day, with circulation down about 15% from a year earlier.
- Print leaders: The Wall Street Journal remained No. 1 with average print circulation of 391,200, followed by The New York Times at 222,700.
Publishers, states the post, “have shifted their businesses toward digital subscriptions, websites, newsletters, podcasts, video and other platforms as print readership continues to contract.”
More here.
image: Citybiz
