SCHAUMBURG, Illinois: Average circulation for the 534 US daily newspapers fell 3.6% year on year for the six months to the end of March, with Sunday circulation also down by 4.6%, according to the Audit Bureau of Circulations.

Gannett's USA Today and News Corporation's Wall Street Journal were the only titles in the daily top ten to post an increase, up by 0.3% (to 2.28 million) and 0.4% (to 2.07 million) respectively. The WSJ was boosted by its relatively large number of online subscribers, not included in last year's total.

The Los Angeles Times saw a slide of 5.1%, while the New York Times' daily edition fell by 3.9% and its Sunday title by 9.3%.

Both of these publications have recently changed their daily distribution structures, and Diane McNulty, speaking on behalf of the NYT, said: "This was a decline that we planned and budgeted for."

The New York Post, owned by Rupert Murdoch's NewsCorp, posted higher circulation figures than its long-term rival The Daily News, owned by Mort Zuckerman. The pair are currently vying to purchase Long Island-based daily Newsday.

The Post, however, did slip in overall circulation by 2.1%, while The News was down 3.1%.

Data sourced from Wall Street Journal Online; additional content by WARC staff