Newsday, Sun-Times Face Circulation Sanctions

The newspaper circulation scandal took another twist Monday as the group that audits the industry censured three big papers.

The Audit Bureau of Circulations said it censured The Chicago Sun-Times, Newsday and Hoy after circulation overstatement findings at the three papers. The Sun-Times is published by Canada's Hollinger (HLR), while the other two are published by Tribune (TRB).

As a result of the censure, which was decided at the board's annual meeting this weekend, the three papers will be required to submit to more frequent audits. They will also have their circulation claims excluded from certain Audit Bureau reports and will be expected to submit a plan to fix their circulation-reporting problems.

The Audit Bureau also took steps to tighten its auditing standards.

"The relationship between publisher and advertiser is based upon trust," said Audit Bureau Chairman Robert Troutbeck. "Each member of the ABC board agrees that we, as an industry, do not tolerate rules circumvention, to say nothing of fraud, and will do whatever is necessary to preserve the trust between publishers and advertisers that all sides value so highly."

The censure comes just a week after Olympic Carpet became the latest advertiser to sue over the overstatements. The company's suit alleges that Chicago-based Tribune defrauded advertisers by inflating the figures, which are commonly used to set ad rates. Hollinger has also been named in overstatement lawsuits, The Associated Press reported.

On Monday, the Tribune newspapers said they were taking action to move past the overstatement setback.

"Hoy views the actions announced by ABC today as reasonable and appropriate," Hoy publisher Louis Sito said. "Hoy intends to fully comply with ABC to ensure that the newspaper's circulation figures are accurate and reliable. We have already taken several important internal steps to strengthen our circulation procedures and practices. In taking swift action, we hope to restore the trust of our advertisers and readers, and continue serving Hispanic communities in New York, Chicago and Los Angeles."

Raymond A. Jansen, publisher of Long Island, N.Y., daily Newsday, made a similar statement.

On Monday, Hollinger slipped 15 cents to $16.35, while Tribune rose a nickel to $43.39.

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