Arizona Republic Named Among Nation’s Worst-Performing Papers
By Staff Reporter |
The Arizona Republic was named among the nation’s worst-performing newspapers.
The outlet belongs to Gannett Co., Inc., the largest newspaper owner in the nation. It was also one of Gannett’s worst performing papers, out of the over 300 publications the media giant owns.
The Arizona Republic had the biggest decline in circulation (19 percent) according to new data on audited major papers by the Alliance for Audited Media. Out of all the largest audited papers, the Arizona Republic came in fourth for greatest circulation losses.
The paper’s circulation dropped to 32,800 in 2025 from 40,500 in 2024.
Turning Point USA executive Tyler Bowyer attributed the paper’s decline to its political bent, allegedly against conservatives.
“I did try to warn them a lot! They still haven’t done anything to be fair and save the paper,” said Bowyer.
Last August, Gannett offered buyouts to top staff at the Arizona Republic following their closure of the Deer Valley Printing Facility, the paper’s historic printing facility in North Phoenix. Gannett moved its print operations for the paper from Deer Valley Printing to its facility in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Over 100 workers were laid off as a result of the closure.
That facility also printed the Arizona Daily Star, Arizona Daily Sun, The New York Times, and USA Today.
Gannett wasn’t the only company to take a hit with its papers. 25 of the largest audited newspapers had an average daily print circulation decline of 12 percent last year.
The Washington Post experienced the worst year-on-year decline out of all the top papers (21 percent to 87,600), followed by the Los Angeles Times (19.8 percent to 63,500), Chicago Tribune (19.7 percent to 48,600), and finally the Arizona Republic.
Among the top 25 audited papers with the least circulation decline were the New York Post (4.2 percent to 117,000), Connecticut Post (5.3 percent to 30,700), the Mercury News (7.3 percent to 24,200), and The New York Times (8.6 percent to 228,200).
Only one out of the top 25 experienced an increase in circulation: The Villages Daily Sun (4.2 percent to 48,700).
The Arizona Republic was not among the top 50 news websites for visits in the U.S. either, according to Press Gazette data.
In 2022, Gannett executed a significant cost reduction program that yielded sizable layoffs and salary reductions at a 10 percent minimum to pay down $150 to $200 million of debt.
Those mass layoffs became pointedly evident by 2023. The Arizona Republic went from 140 employees in 2018 to less than 100 by 2023 per an analysis by NewsGuild.
In an effort to claw back some lost ground, unionized workers under the Arizona Republic spent years fighting for an agreement with Gannett to improve wages. They announced success in December 2023: Gannett promised to raise wages while preserving medical and retirement benefits for the surviving staff of the layoffs. Arizona Republic reporters unionized in 2019.
Circulation declines, layoffs, and budgeting woes have plagued the Arizona Republic in recent years despite forays into initiatives designed to boost readership and offset cost, like hiring from Report for America.
Only one out of the three Report for America corps members still works for the Arizona Republic.
Other Arizona-based outlets to receive Report for America-funded reporters were the Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting, KOLD-TV, Arizona PBS, Nogales International, Arizona Luminaria, Pinal Central, and Tucson Sentinel.
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