Slight circulation drops seen throughout Catholic press

Published: 2004-04-05

RONKONKOMA, N.Y. (CNS) -- With slight drops in nearly all sectors, combined Catholic press circulation in the United States and Canada declined about 1 percent over the past year, according to figures in the 2004 Catholic Press Directory. The total number of publications rose slightly from 626 last year to 629 this year. There were two fewer English-language newspapers but three more magazines and two more foreign-language publications. The number of newsletters stayed the same at 125. Circulation of all Catholic periodicals dropped from 26,874,009 last year to 26,565,562 this year. The total number of U.S. and Canadian national, diocesan or other Catholic newspapers dropped from 215 to 213; their combined circulation declined by about 36,000, to 6,637,512. The only category with an increase was Canadian diocesan newspapers, where circulation rose from 88,100 last year to 95,902 this year. Although the number of Catholic magazines rose from 242 to 245, circulation dropped from about 14.5 million to 14.2 million.

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