Northwest Herald Circulation Plunges

The downward trend of weekday circulation for the Northwest Herald hit 21,440 a month ago.

That’s what the USSPI reports.

USSPI is a privately held ad agency out of Schaumburg that specializes in national newspaper media buying and placement

It released October circulation figures for the Northwest Herald and other newspapers in the Chicago metropolitan area.

On 10/25/17 USSPI listed NWH circulation as 21,440 daily ROP (Run of Paper ads) and 23, 774 Sunday ROP on Sundays.

Wikipedia says the NWH had daily circulation of 32,934.

The Sunday number is 34,961.

Using the ROP figures, that works out to another 16 percent drop in daily ROP circulation and a 24 percent drop for Sundays.A year ago on 10/3/16 USSPI reported NWH had 25,453 daily ROP  and 31,230 Sunday ROP.

The 2015 ROP numbers released were

  • 27,100 for weekdays
  • 31,230 for Sunday

The 2015 Wikipedia entry reported that the NWH had about 33,000 papers.

2013 figures (found in the same linked article) were

  • 30,039 for weekdays
  • 33,317 for Sunday

The 2012 numbers were

  • 30,624 weekdays
  • 34,082 Sunday

2011 circulation:

  • 31,054 weekdays
  • 34,951 Sunday

2009 circulation:

  • 32,934 weekdays
  • 34,951 Sunday

In 2009, Wikipedia stated the NWH had “circulation of nearly 40,000.”

A 1993 report in the Chicago Tribune showed

  • 29,095 for weekdays
  • 29,529 for Sunday

Population was 176,311 in 1989.

In 2015 it was estimated to be 307,343.

There are 109,800 households in McHenry County, so the NWH reaches about one in five.

The Tribune reaches 9.9% of homes, while the Sun-Times gets to 3.9%.


Comments

Northwest Herald Circulation Plunges — 31 Comments

  1. The Northworst Herald continues to hemorrhage readers because of its slanted coverage towards the left whenever possible.

    The Editorial Page is worthless and a political arm of the McHenry County Board Chairman.

    The last “Our View” completely trashes the real tax cutters and promotes Aavang and Jung who voted for the tax increase last year.

  2. Do these figures include online subscriptions or just paper subscriptions?

  3. Toilet paper is more useful than that rag.

    It is more absorbent, while everything of significance slides right off the NWH paper.

  4. Earlier this year, the big boss/owner of the newspaper put his message on an insert that was delivered with the hard copy of the newspaper.

    He said in his own words that his newspaper would have real news not fake news.

    Yet, to this day, the newspaper continually includes stories from a prominent liberal and far left wing newspaper from Washington DC.

    The local newspaper also includes stories from a national news service that is also liberal and far left wing.

    Both of these entities regularly twist, contort and bias their stories in favor of liberal and Democrat positions and regularly bash the current president and Republicans.

  5. It also seems that the local newspaper devotes an inordinate amount of manpower and staff to trivial stories in the sports section that should be the domain of high school newspapers and high school news web sites.

    They regularly have stories of a high school student who chooses to be a student at a particular college or university.

    Other than the parents and grandparents of the student, who in Mc Henry County really cares or gives a darn about where a high school student will be attending college?

  6. But they have some objective, hard working, smart reporters.

    I must blame the editors or ed-in-chief for inserting bias and deleting inconvenient truths.

  7. It’s been downhill for a long time.

    Remember when they reported the “$hit load of snow?”

    Those were the days…

  8. This is in the NWH, odd it isnt evwn mentioned here when every other thing happening there is.

    LOCAL

    Hidden camera?

    Algonquin Township supervisor pleads the 5th

  9. First a dismal prediction for the future of Illinois and now this ?

    What next ?

    People don’t like FAKE newspapers, or thieving politicians.

    And the Great Exodus from Illinois continues unabated for many years to come.

    See a Democrat – thank a Democrat.

  10. Abe, you bi#4ch about all things Illinois, and yet you are still here.

    Get your act together and move out, if you are so unhappy.

    Perhaps it’s not your location that makes you so unhappy; just your sour self.

  11. Actually I like the Northwest Herald…

    But it could be a lot better..

    I think one of the problems is an ineffective delivery system..

    we get the paper delivered when the driver feels like it..a

    nd even some days they don’t feel like it…

    some times we get a half paper..

    I think they finally have a few reporters that know how to write and do an complete deep investigative report…

    But they drop the ball when it comes to follow through…..

    they had one reporter who wrote “Jack Franks walks on water” stories..

    but he left and Jack hired him…

    HUmmm

  12. Another Liberal/DEMOCRAT snowflake triggered by the truth … and I’m LOVIN’ IT, Tommy !

  13. Maybe they cold do a really good job and get circulation to drop to 0.

  14. Another unhappy, sad and slow blog poster, Abe the sour self.

    You love nothing, Abe, except bi@ching.

    Move on out.

    I’m loving that.

  15. Still feeling triggered tommy ?

    Perhaps you’ll grow up and grow out of it someday,
    but until then you can stay in your safe space – MAGA !

  16. Bred, you are so right!

    Hopefully the little lying rag, aka ‘Jacko Franks Herald’ will fold in 2018.

    I will do a jig in celebration!

  17. I think the NW Herald is suffering the same pressure (and probable demise) that many, long-time subscription-based news outlets are dealing with.

    Cable news networks, online news sources, and social media is where many people turn to for national and local news – not the local rag.

    The NW Herald probably reports a lot of local sports because parents with school-age children like to see their kids’s names in the paper, and this is an easy source for subscriptions.

    Plus, I happen to think that their local sports writers are excellent.

    I do see a recent effort to offer more in-depth local stories but many of these stories seem rather “sensational” and this can cause great harm to an innocent business or individual that is unfairly accused, but “featured” prominently in the paper.

    I’m sure these types of stories sell papers!

    The Herald is also trying to diversify into specialized online advertising platforms, SEM, SEO, and small business marketing programs.

    I feel they are too late to this party.

    From a revenue standpoint, newspapers like the NW Herald are kept afloat with advertising dollars and this is where the NW Herald has, in my opinion, dropped the ball because many local businesses no longer advertise or advertise with the Herald very sporadically.

    I used to advertise every week in the Herald, but rarely now.

    They stopped calling on our business with advertising opportunities, they stopped offering any help designing our ads, and all of the attention and support suddenly shifted to downtown CL businesses.

    I believe a NW Herald ad rep sits in on downtown monthly meetings.

    In contrast, we might hear from a Herald ad rep once a year.

    The pitch is usually last minute, with minimal explanation.

    The last time we ran a story in the Herald was a feature section called, “All About Crystal Lake” and it was pitched to us as a city wide feature for long time businesses.

    It ended up being, “All About Downtown Crystal Lake” and they shoved our very expensive advertisement at the back of the section while featuring downtown businesses up front.

    Our mayor was interviewed for the article and as usual, gushed about downtown, along with the downtown association director.

    They burned the bridge with us on that one.

    Interestingly, the City’s main EDC person is a member of the downtown board of directors which, in my opinion, is a huge conflict, considering the City’s favoritism and subsidies of downtown.

    Is there a reason why Route 14, the real economic engine of Crystal Lake continues to struggle?

    Last weekend the Herald did a feature article about Small Business Saturday, a day that many of us participate in and promote.

    The business featured in this article has been featured many times in the Herald and the owner is the president of the downtown association.

    It would be nice if the Herald stepped out of downtown CL every once in while and covered some of the many, long-time successful businesses on route 14 and scattered throughout the city.

    Heck, it would be nice if they covered other small businesses in other McHenry County cities!

    We all know the “historic” downtown CL story – a quaint little shopping area, 2 blocks long, bought and paid for by TIF money and retail tax dollars collected by businesses throughout the city (with no cost sharing or contribution by downtown business owners who have exclusively benefited from all of the City’s handouts.)

    The Herald seems to think that businesses in this area are more “special” than other small businesses in Crystal Lake.

    I can tell you that there are many, many, small businesses outside of the downtown area who are very active with local charities and contribute every day to make Crystal Lake better.

    They do this quietly and without all of the fanfare that the downtown merchants and director like to brag about.

    I don’t want to spend my advertising dollars with the Herald any more because of their bias and I think many small businesses outside of downtown feel the same.

    They don’t support us or represent us.

    The Herald has left a lot of advertising revenue on the table, following the city’s lead and obsession with little downtown CL.

  18. It’s too bad the Herald was such a crummy paper; it could have been very good.

    But the editorial quality of the local paper has declined, and that was from a point that was never really very high in the first place.

    People vote with their feet, I cancelled my subscription over its obvious biases.

    Young people don’t read.

    bottom line: the NWH’s days are numbered, and that number ain’t big — just go ask the craven Craver.

  19. Old people
    Young, talented people don’t want To work for a paper. Even if they do they’re told what to write about and how it should be written. This conversation is boring and old

  20. This sunshine blog and our paparazzi, freeloader, sunshine blogger’s courageous reporting will single handedly bring down the Northwest Herald…or so these people believe…tic, tock, tic, tock…

  21. Things are just tough for print media.

    Within the last 4 years or so, two large printing companies in Woodstock shut down resulting in ~850 people losing jobs.

    Declining circulation is to be expected in NW Herald’s future as older people die off or exit the county and young people tend to consume their news online.

  22. Don’t bring me facts! It’s the sunshine blog taking down liberal Northwest Herald…tic, tock, tic, tock…

  23. Cal was had by the NWH, and he has not gotten over it.

    Truth to print has never been his love. Hmmm…

  24. Tommy Triggered – Why all the hating on Cal ?

    Trump WON, Hillary LOST – isn’t it time you got over it ?

  25. The NWH was printed some fine articles over the years.

    It’s video story about the McCollum Lake cancer cluster was truly incredible.

    However, its slanted editorials and omission of certain stories are disturbing.

    Most people I know have stopped reading it for these reasons.

  26. I think it’s very important to support our Good Newspapers.

    I get the Chicago Tribune in paper and digital because I know they support a code of ethics and they hire and help encourage good journalism.

    Truth and factual reporting may not be available on Blogs or Facebook.

    There are no standards to uphold.

    If people are really concerned with Truth in reporting then supporting Good Newspapers is an important part of that initiative.

    NWH does not fall into the good newspaper category in my opinion.

    I would ask everyone to reconsider how they are obtaining news and order that Digital or paper copy to support a free press.

  27. I’m happy to see that so many others consider the NWH to be a liberal bias rag.

    They fail to know their audience and clearly thumb their nose at subscribers looking to simply receive their news from a reliable, fair and relevant local news source.

    NWH has done this to themselves.

    They have become a penny-anty newspaper hack that spews out their agenda disguised as real news for a price.

    Im amazed that the NWH has yet to understand that we can get that trash for free from equally sketchy so-called news sources.

    Is it their arrogance or ignorance?

    Either way, good riddance!

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