The Los Angeles Times lost another 5.4% of its print readers in the March-to-March comparison, falling to 851,832 daily copies sold. Other local papers are not included in today's media coverage so far. USA Today, the New York Times and even the Chicago Tribune were up slightly, but most of the country's big metro papers shed readers—the national circulation erosion is being put at 2.2%. For the Times, at least the paper's decline isn't as steep as last year's drop. But the LAT did lose more paid readers than any of the top ten papers.

* LAT's explanation: The drop reflects a deliberate cut in "other paid circulation," mostly the copies distributed in hotels and schools. The release from Publisher Jeff Johnson says home-delivered circulation is up 24,257 Monday-Friday and 32,432 on Sunday. Sunday circulation stands at 1,231,318, he says.