Chesterfield Observer circulation tops 54,000

An independent audit for the Chesterfield Observer for September/October 2008 reported an average weekly circulation of 54,278, a 15.3 percent increase from the same period in 2007 when the audit showed an average of 48,365. The circulation hike is a result of increasing the number of papers mailed from 39,064 to 45,051 with most of the increase occurring because the newspaper added households to its bulk mail list in the Chester zip codes of 23831 and 23836.

In addition to the number of newspapers mailed, the Chesterfield Observer also averaged 9,049 newspapers picked up weekly at more than 65 retail locations, county libraries and post offices. The remaining copies are mailed to advertising clients and paid subscribers.

Even before its circulation increase was reported, the Chesterfield Observer already had the second largest news circulation in the Richmond metropolitan area and the third largest weekly newspaper circulation in the state. Those higher circulation weeklies are in Loudoun County in northern Virginia.

According to the 2008 Directory of Virginia Newspapers, Style Weekly has a circulation of 39,756, and its editor estimates that about 10,200 copies are picked up free in Chesterfield County. The directory reports the Village News in Chester with a circulation of 11,000 and the Midlothian Exchange with 25,024. The latter publication, owned by Media General, the parent company of the Richmond Times-Dispatch (RTD), gets most of its circulation by being inserted inside the daily newspaper on Thursdays.

With the circulation hike, the Chesterfield Observer increases its lead in Chesterfield circulation over the daily paper. According to the Audit Bureau of Circulation (ABC), the RTD has a total weekday circulation of 38,356 in the county as of March 2008, down 7.8 percent in the past 12 months. As of March, circulation for the Sunday newspaper dropped to 49,310 from 50,523 in March 2007, a 2.5 percent decline.

There is a list of locations where the Chesterfield Observer may be picked up for free on page 20. The weekly paper is also available at www.chesterfieldobserver.com.