News Limited director of marketing and circulation, Joe Talcott says, "The explosion in online newspaper readership has led some to talk about the death of newspapers. However, whilst there is some movement of readers, the drop of just 1.3 per cent in printed circulation compared to the same quarter year shows the remarkable resilience of our newspapers.

"Indeed, whilst our online mastheads show rates of growth of several hundred per cent in some instances, News Limited's print circulation remains steady and will continue to do so for many years to come. The masthead's strength and relevance, combined with the vast increase of traffic to masthead websites means the reach of newspaper content continues to rise significantly."

The latest ABC data, which covers the period July – September 2007, confirms:

• News Limited sells around 13 million newspapers each week
• The company's major mastheads continue to hold a huge lead over their competitors in Sydney and Melbourne
• Paid sales dominate News Limited's circulation with sales to the education sector and at major events making up a tiny percentage of average net paid sales

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