Of the top 20 U.S. newspapers in terms of market penetration — the percentage of adults in a metro region reading the paper in print or online or both — 16 dailies actually saw a decline in audience from 2009 to 2010. Only three saw their overall reach increase. Many of the market penetration declines were modest, but among those suffering the biggest losses in 2010 were the Des Moines Register (-11.3%), the Louisville Courier-Journal (-9.4%) and the Austin American-Statesman (-8.2%). Read More

Russell Heimlich  is a former web developer at Pew Research Center.