The incredible shrinking Metro

Last November,
Metro Boston proudly announced that it had surpassed the
Herald
and become Boston's second-largest daily newspaper, with an average
circulation of almost 187,000. "The increase in circulation validates
what we have seen around the globe, that the free daily newspaper model
is the future of the industry," Stuart Layne, Metro Boston's publisher,
said at the time.
Um...maybe not? According to a brand-new
Certified Audit of Circulations report, Metro Boston's average
circulation for the quarter ending September 30, 2007 was 135,888.
That's a drop of more than 51,000 papers/day, or around 27 percent. (As
for Layne, he's
no longer with the paper.)
Oskar
Bjorner, Metro Boston's acting publisher, wasn't available for comment
this afternoon; I was told to try back Monday, and I shall. In the
meantime, Boston Globe Media might want to consider revising its Metro
Boston
Web page.