Boston Globe Circles the Circulation Drain

As I was commenting on the Boston Globe's twisted editorial slant yesterday, the New York Times Company (parent of the Globe), was conducting its call with analysts to discuss first quarter results. In a word: 'ouch'; glad I'm not a shareholder. The Times itself reports a profit that would have been a loss but for the sale of real estate. As for the Globe, industry journal 'Editor and Publisher' reports:

...the Globe's daily circ declined by 17,000 copies, or 3.7%, and Sunday decreased by 15,000 copies, or 2.1%... Executives attributed the circulation decreases in Boston and in the New York area to weather problems during Q1, changing demographics -- an influx of immigrants -- and the shunning of traditional papers by a younger generation... [warning that] the declines would continue for the second half of the year, especially as the company migrates away from bulk sales.

The Globe's less liberal rival, the Boston Herald, gleefully adds:

The Herald, meanwhile, grew more popular. "We're up 1,400 copies a day in the last six months compared to the same period a year ago,'' said Herald Publisher Patrick J. Purcell in an interview. Falling sales aren't The Globe's only problem. Advertising revenues fell 4.2 percent last quarter, including 9.3 percent in March. Times executives partly blamed the early Easter, but then conceded they had seen no corresponding pickup in April.

These stated excuses for such a precipitous decline (and in the thin margin news business, 3.7% is precipitous) can only be described as delusional:

• Weather, (Hello! It's Boston. And isn't this the paper that's fond of reminding us over and over again that global warming is happening any minute now?)
• Immigration, (that would be a new one for a paper that's silent on illegal immigration and supportive of balkanized 'whatever language you feel comfortable with' education)
• Demographics, (except that these are ongoing, long-term trends.)
• Religion, (i.e., the timing of Easter. Hey, let's blame the church - it worked last time!)
• The Economy, (a backhanded smear on a Republican President and Governor, and the excuse of last resort for any failing business.)

There's only one problem: to the extent that any of these things are even true, they affected the entire region. And yet the Herald's numbers are up. Hmm...

The Times doesn't even hint that the Globe's persistently far-left editorial policy, (e.g., this) and resulting fatigue with the paper's predictable, warmed-over, 1960s-era-liberal, Peoples' Republic of Cambridge, Ted Kennedy and John Kerry are da bomb slant could be a factor. There's no mention either of the rising popularity of blogs, (much less the role - at least on the margin - of political ones.) Nope. It was the snow. And Republicans trashing the economy. And Easter. And those pesky immigrants and young people who didn't have the common sense to look out for their own interests by voting for Kerry.

UPDATE: Michelle Malkin has more on the Globe's shortcomings here. The story its readers would like to hear (heartless seal hunt in Canada!) gets ink despite being, well... untrue.