When you don't like the news, change it

When you don't like what the news is, you change how you report it so it seems to be better news. That's what newspaper publishers are doing as they reveal how many readers they have.

In their effort to influence advertisers, they will no longer mention how many people spend money to buy their newspapers. They will, instead, double-speak of something called "total audience," according to a report today in Editor & Publisher.

This is because paid circulation has been dropping much faster than they want anyone to know about. Still, you expect publishers - who sell "facts" as a business - not to play games with facts when they talk about themselves.

E&P says that several major papers have declined in daily circulation more than 7 percent.

"Daily circulation for reporting papers in the six-month ... period ending September is down about 2.5% while Sunday is expected to fall 3.5%," E&P reported. "Those types of declines -- in the 2% and 3% range -- have been occurring as far back as the March 2005 period."