If you thought newspaper circulation figures were low...

The actual numbers might be a good deal lower than what was reported on Tuesday by the the Alliance for Audited Media (formerly known as the Audit Bureau of Circulations). Newspaper circulation has always been more of an art than a science, but now the results should be truly questioned because several categories are lumped into a single count. Publishers. for example, are allowed to include their readers multiple times. Doesn't sound like such a great way to measure performance. From Mathew Ingram:

Newspapers can count someone who reads the newspaper in print, on the web and on their Kindle as three separate readers. But doesn't this inflate their readership numbers unreasonably? It sure does. The bottom line is that no one really knows what the "real" readership numbers are for newspapers. Some argue this has always been the case with newspapers, which is true: publishers have routinely engaged in all kinds of shady tricks to boost their circulation -- including special discounts for bulk purchases by hotels and airlines and other giveaways, and even dumping large quantities into ravines or pulping them after printing. On top of that, many papers have inflated their readership numbers for years by claiming that each copy gets read by as many as five people, an estimate that borders on the ridiculous.