With the sale of the New York Daily News to the media company Tronc (formerly the Tribune Company), New York’s “hometown newspaper’’ has dropped out of America’s largest independent newspapers ranked by circulation.
The following are the 10 largest independent newspapers in the United States based on combined print and digital paid subscriptions. About half of these newspapers are owned by billionaires. The Daily News had been owned by billionaire Mort Zuckerman. Circulation data was provided by the Alliance for Audited Media and is for the third quarter of 2015.
Newsday
> Circulation: 512,118
Patrick Dolan and his father Charles purchased a 75% stake in Newsday, Long Island’s biggest newspaper, on July 7, 2016.
Dallas Morning News
> Circulation: 410,587
The Dallas Morning News is owned by A.H. Belo, a media group whose name is an homage to Dallas Morning News founder Alfred Horatio Belo.
Washington Post
> Circulation: 356,768
Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos bought the Washington Post in August 2013 and his Nash Holdings took control of the newspaper in October of that year.
Minneapolis Star Tribune
> Circulation: 285,129
Billionaire Glen Taylor bought the Minneapolis Star Tribune in 2014 for about $100 million. He is also the majority owner of two professional basketball teams.
Boston Globe
> Circulation: 232,546
The Boston Globe was purchased in 2013 by Boston Red Sox owner John W. Henry for $70 million from the New York Times Company. New York Times had bought the Globe in 1993 for $1.1 billion, one of the most expensive purchases of a print company in U.S. history.
Las Vegas Review-Journal
> Circulation: 232,372
The Las Vegas Review-Journal is the largest circulating daily newspaper in Nevada and one of two daily newspapers in the Las Vegas area. In December 2015, casino magnate Sheldon Adelson purchased the newspaper for $140 million.
The Salt Lake Tribune/Deseret News
> Circulation: 152,210
Huntsman Family Investments, a private-equity firm headed by Paul Huntsman, announced on April 20, 2016, that it would be buying the Tribune.
The Chicago Sun-Times
> Circulation: 146,539
The Chicago Sun-Times was bought in July by an investment group led by Chicago politician Edwin Eisendrath and a coalition of labor unions, thwarting a competing bid from the owner of the Chicago Tribune. The paper had been owned by Wrapports.
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
> Circulation: 140,987
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette is the largest daily newspaper serving the metropolitan Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, area. It is owned by Block Communications, named after the Block family.
The Advocate (Baton Rouge)
> Circulation: 126,976
In March 2013, New Orleans businessman John Georges signed a letter of intent to purchase The Advocate. Georges and his wife Dathel bought the newspaper through a holding company, Georges Media, on April 30, 2013.
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