The Audit Bureau of Circulations released circulation numbers for more than 700 daily newspapers yesterday. According to Editor and Publisher:

According to an analysis of ABC figures, for 538 daily U.S. newspapers, circulation declined 2.5% to 40,689,617. For 609 papers that filed on Sunday, overall circulation dropped 3.5% to 46,771,486. The percentages are based on comparisons from the same period a year ago and represent the majority of the paper's reporting into ABC -- less than half in the country.

Editor and Publisher has the numbers for specific markets: First FAS-FAX Numbers: Many Top Papers Take Big Hits

Along with the FAS-FAX numbers, ABC, NAA and Scarborough Research announced Audience-FAX a new joint initiative to answer advertisers’ evolving needs for measurements that reflect the total newspaper audience and help facilitate comparisons with electronic media:

Two-hundred and six newspapers are participating in the Audience-FAX launch, reporting in-market print, online and net combined readership as measured by Scarborough Research and others. Monthly Web site unique visitors are also being reported from such leading sources as Nielsen//NetRatings, comScore Inc. and Omniture. All audience data will be verified by ABC and reported in each newspaper’s audit report.

“The new information available to marketers via Audience-FAX gives us greater insight into readership trends, audience demographics and online reach, with independent verification by ABC to ensure accountability and consistency," noted Mark Kaline, global media manager, Ford Motor Co. “It's great to see more than 200 newspapers participating in this initial phase. We hope to see a lot more in the future."

The Wall Street Journal took a hit in paid circulation (down 1.5% from a year ago), but the company announced Sunday that WSJ.com reached to 1 million subscribers.

The Chicago Tribune is reporting that 5 newspaper giants in talks about online ad network:

Five of the nation's top newspaper companies are taking steps to create a national online advertising network they hope will help them recapture ad revenue leaking away from their print products.

Sources close to the situation said Gannett Co., Tribune Co., Hearst Corp., Media News Group and Cox Newspapers may band together to form a common ad sales force that could offer national advertisers "one-stop shopping" for ad space on big-market Web sites across the nation.

The consortium, which would both overlap with and compete against another network set up last year by Yahoo Inc., would capture seven of the top 10 U.S. markets, one source said. The hope is that it would grow by attracting such other companies as the Washington Post Co. and McClatchy Co.