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A 5.1 percent circulation drop for the 12-month period ended March 31 is pretty bad, but pull back 10 years and the numbers look even worse. In an April 23, 1998 press release, then-publisher Mark Willes (remember him?) was touting the paper's "journalistic enhancements" and "innovative marketing programs" that were "connecting with readers." He also crowed about a "revamped Los Angeles Times Sunday Magazine” (that was the year before the Staples fiasco). As for circulation, well…
LAT Average Daily Circulation
March, 1998 - 1,095,007
March, 2008 - 773,884
Change - 321,123
In that same 1998 press release, Willes says, "These latest circulation increases are proof of what can happen when an entire organization is committed to growth."
Mark Lacter created the LA Biz Observed blog in 2006. He posted
until the day before his death on Nov. 13, 2013.