Wall Street Journal, USA Today, New York Times top latest circulation report

Audit Bureau of Circulations
ABC has released circulation figures for the six-month period ending Sept. 30, 2011. This is the second reporting period in which ABC is counting circulation differently, so you can’t compare current figures to previous periods. The Wall Street Journal, USA Today and The New York Times top the list of top 25 daily newspapers. The San Jose Mercury News, Dallas Morning News and the Chicago Sun-Times all rank high due to the inclusion of “branded” copies — editions with a different nameplate and some distinct content. For digital editions, ABC also has distinguished between “replica” (identical to the printed paper) and “non-replica.” In that measure, the Journal leads the Times, roughly 537,000 to 380,000; USA Today is well down the list. The Times’ Jeremy Peters reports that growth in digital shows “a growing willingness by consumers to pay for digital newspaper editions.” || Related: Rick Edmonds says the changes in how ABC counts circulation means the figures will go sideways, not up or down (Poynter.org) | Newsday’s circulation figures indicate its much-maligned paywall is working (Forbes.com)

ABC’s report of the top 25 daily papers: