Manchester Evening News distribution model causes decreasing circulation

The Manchester Evening News (MEN) suffered one of the biggest downturns in circulation across the regional press in June, as the effects of its new distribution model continue to impact on the paper.

The newspaper’s circulation fell by 24.12% from 114,676 to 86,923 between June 2006 and 2007, according to the latest Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC) figures.

The paper, which is now given away free in the city centre, says that distribution of free copies has now surged past falling sales of its paid-for edition.

The MEN gave away over 92,000 free copies in the city centre each weekday figures in June, according to the ABC figures.

Daily regional newspapers across the board struggled in June, with big selling papers such as The Liverpool Echo, West Midlands Express & Star and the Birmingham Mail all suffering year-on-year falls.