Reach of Chicago’s Daily News
Approximately 8.3 million visitors used Chicago-area new news sites in May 2010, according to Compete.com data of individual Chicago websites, resulting in 20 million visits to Chicago-area new news sites in May.
While circulation for Chicago’s two major metropolitan dailies has fallen over the past five years, online usage of major metro daily websites continues to grow. Over the past year, each of the three Chicago metropolitan dailies has seen at least 20 percent growth in unique visitors online (comparing May 2009 to May 2010) while print circulation numbers fell.
Chicago Tribune
Online Readership
| Month | Unique Visitors | Change |
|---|---|---|
| May 2009 | 3,136,238 | |
| May 2010 | 3,778,692 | +20.5 |
Print Circulation
| Year | Weekday Circulation | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 565,679 | |
| 2006 | 579,079 | +2.3 |
| 2007 | 566,827 | -2.1 |
| 2008 | 541,663 | -4.4 |
| 2009 | 465,892 | -13.9 |
| 2010 | 452,145 | -2.9 |
| Year | Sunday Circulation | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 953,814 | |
| 2006 | 957,212 | +0.3 |
| 2007 | 940,620 | -1.73 |
| 2008 | 898,703 | -4.5 |
| 2009 | 803,220 | -10.6 |
| 2010 | 794,350 | -1.1 |
Chicago Sun-Times
Online Readership
| Month | Unique Visitors | Change |
|---|---|---|
| May 2009 | 1,950,364 | |
| May 2010 | 2,673,095 | +37.05 |
Print Circulation
| Year | Weekday Circulation | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 349,968 | |
| 2006 | 341,448 | -2.4 |
| 2007 | 326,018 | -4.5 |
| 2008 | 313,176 | -3.9 |
| 2009 | 275,641 | -12 |
| 2010 | 268,803 | -2.5 |
| Year | Sunday Circulation | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 281,129 | |
| 2006 | 264,371 | -6 |
| 2007 | 244,962 | -7.3 |
| 2008 | 255,905 | +4.5 |
| 2009 | 251,260 | -1.8 |
| 2010 | 247,416 | -1.5 |
Daily Herald
Online Readership
| Month | Unique Visitors | Change |
|---|---|---|
| May 2009 | 332,128 | |
| May 2010 | 468,618 | +41.09 |
Print Circulation
| Year | Weekday Circulation | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 151,028 | |
| 2006 | 151,200 | +0.11 |
| 2007 | 145,051 | -4.1 |
| 2008 | 138,186 | -4.7 |
| 2009 | 130,404 | -5.6 |
| 2010 | 111,539 | -14.4 |
| Year | Sunday Circulation | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 151,577 | |
| 2006 | 151,767 | +0.12 |
| 2007 | 146,944 | -3.17 |
| 2008 | 142,342 | -3.13 |
| 2009 | 131,789 | -7.41 |
| 2010 | 118,838 | -9.82 |
Sources and data notes:
Sources for daily metropolitan circulation:
Chicago Tribune:
2005 – www.BurrellesLuce.com
2006, 2007 – http://www.chicagobusiness.com/cgi-bin/news.pl?id=24785
2008 – http://www.BurrellesLuce.com/topmedia
2009 – http://newsblogs.chicagotribune.com/towerticker/2009/10/chicago-daily-papers-not-immune-from-industry-circulation-declines.html
2010 – http://www.chicagobusiness.com/cgi-bin/news.pl?id=37971
Chicago Sun-Times:
2005-2008 – http://newsblogs.chicagotribune.com/towerticker/2008/10/new-newspaper-p.html
2009 – http://newsblogs.chicagotribune.com/towerticker/2009/10/chicago-daily-papers-not-immune-from-industry-circulation-declines.html
2010 – http://www.chicagobusiness.com/cgi-bin/news.pl?id=37971
Daily Herald:
2005 – 2008 – http://newsblogs.chicagotribune.com/towerticker/2008/10/new-newspaper-p.html
2009-1010 – http://www.burrellesluce.com/resources/top_media_outlets/archived_top_media_outlets
Sources for online visit data: public data at compete.com
See Methodology page for more information about compete.com
