USA Today is now the country's most widely circulated daily newspaper, according to the latest report from the Alliance for Audited Media.
USA Today's average weekday circulation jumped from 1.71 million a year ago to 2.88 million for six months ending September 30. The jump reflects the Alliance for Audited Media's recent decision to include data about mobile and tablet apps — which offers free content to readers — in the numbers. Its print-only circulation, however, fell 19 percent.
"As news consumption habits continue to change, we remain focused on giving our on-the-go audience the compelling content they desire," Larry Kramer, the president and publisher of USA Today told the newspaper on Thursday. "Whether they choose to connect with us via print, desktop or mobile, our rising audience numbers prove that we're engaging more consumers every day."
WSJ, the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times and the New York Post were also in the top five. USA Today bumped the Wall Street Journal, which was the most widely circulated newspaper six months ago.
The report also no longer ranks newspapers by circulation, providing data on 630 U.S. newspapers in the latest release instead.