The Des Moines Register’s daily circulation dropped nearly 18,000 and its Sunday circulation dropped nearly 15,000 during the six-month period ending in September, according to preliminary figures from the Audit Bureau of Circulations.

The Des Moines Register's historic downtown office building.

The Des Moines Register's historic downtown office building (Jason Hancock/Iowa Independent).

The figures represent a 13 percent daily reduction and a 6.7 percent Sunday reduction. That would put The Register’s daily circulation at a little more than 118,000 newspapers, down from 147,699 in September 2006. The paper’s Sunday circulation would total a little more than 206,000 newspapers, down from 237,870 in September 2006.

In a memo to staff explaining the numbers, Register President and Publisher Laura Hollingsworth points out that 56 percent of the daily loss and 36 percent of the Sunday reduction came due to “strategic changes we’ve made in our business as we’ve moved focus to circulation that is most important to our customers and to us.”

For example, Hollingsworth said the paper, owned by Gannett, eliminated many free upgrades that provided Sunday subscribers additional days at no charge. The paper also eliminated the biggest discount subscriptions and reduced delivery to areas where it was not as profitable. Lastly, a price increase also resulted in some circulation reduction, Hollingsworth said.

Without these moves, the paper’s circulation would have only declined 5.5 percent daily and 4.3 percent on Sunday.

“[These decisions] were painful to make,” she said. “But, these decisions bolstered the economics of our circulation operation while providing the most attractive distribution model for our advertisers. “

Despite the circulation numbers, Hollingsworth boasted that The Register’s overall readership is actually higher in 2009 than it was in 2001.

“In 2001, The Des Moines Register reached more than 516,000 people in central Iowa,” she said. “Today, The Des Moines Register, along with DesMoinesRegister.com and our many publications such as Juice, Moms Like Me and Homestyle, reach more than 597,000 adults. This is a growth in audience of more than 15 percent.”

According to the trade publication Editor and Publisher, The Register’s circulation drop is consistent with other papers across the country. Gannett’s flagship paper, USA Today, saw its circulation drop 17 percent. The New York Times reported a 7.28 percent decrease. The Los Angeles Times reported its daily circulation is down 11 percent.

The biggest drops came from the San Francisco Chronicle (-25.82), Newark (N.J.) Star Ledger (-22.22) and Dallas Morning News (-22.16).

Overall newspaper circulation is down 10.6 percent daily and 7.4 percent on Sunday.

Since August 2008, The Register instituted more than 100 layoffs and a mandatory furlough program in response to a declining economy.