Circulation News

All periodical publications must complete the statement, publish a copy in the newspaper and send a copy of the issue that it appears in to the post office for proof of publication.

The timetable for publication depends on the frequency of your newspapers’ publication.

Publications issued more frequently than weekly must publish the statement no later than Oct. 10. This applies to dailies and semi- and tri-weeklies.

Publications issued weekly, or less frequently, but no more than monthly, must publish by Oct. 31. This applies to weekly newspapers.

All other publications must publish in the first issue after Oct. 1. This applies to infrequent publications such as quarterlies and bi-monthlies.

ABC Defines Electronic Edition Sales
The Audit Bureau of Circulations passed guidelines earlier this year defining electronic sales of newspapers, allowing publishers to create and sell new electronic editions of their publications and still have them count as paid circulation.

ABC has discussed electronic editions in the past, but the new guidelines set clear definitions of what constitutes an electronic edition and how they can be sold.

Electronic editions of newspapers will need to be clearly identified as a version of the main paper, but the editorial and advertising can vary, just like in regional editions of newspapers.

Qualifying electronic editions can be delivered by any electronic means – e-mail, the Web or CD-ROM, for example – and will have to conform to the same rules as print versions to be counted as paid circulation, namely, be sold for at least 25 percent of the basic price.- from Pennsylvania Newspaper Association