Adding up the circulation of the top ten papers isn't very illuminating unless we know the size and shape of the rest of the data, describing the industry as a whole. One clue is that the total size of the market isdescribed in the article as being $55 billion. Divide that by 20 million and, if the revenue came only from the top ten, that'd mean that they're seeing revenue of $2,750 per reader from subscriptions and ads. Seems a might high for a commodity that sells for about 50 cents.

What you said elsewhere about local news is right on. Seems like even the tiniest little burg in the country has some kind of newspaper, even if it's only a weekly "shopper"; while broadcast outlets are more likely to be found in larger cities. I'd agree that the communications revolution is going to eventually settle out into two segments: National/global broadcast mass media, and a myriad of tiny "narrowcast" outlets mostly in the form of newspapers and their electronic analog the community or regional Web site.