While USA Today and WSJ circulation numbers are climbing or holding steady, respectively, the outlook is dire at other dailies.

BizzyBlog has more details.

As a former reporter, I have mixed emotions. In the late 90s, I participated in website content development for a major daily intent on transitioning its print presence. Clearly, papers recognized a decade ago that they were headed for a primarily electronic existence, but I’ll still raise a glass to the smell of fresh newsprint.

As a former PR flack, I’m wondering how agencies are adjusting their promotional fire. The explosion of web-based user-driven outlets has created plenty of new placement potential. Unfortunately, the overall audience is about the same size. So, instead of two million people reading an article on the front page of one daily paper, you get one person deciding which of two million sources he or she might get information. Does that mean more pickup for a press release, or is finding a way to make all those editors happy even possible?