In all but a few places, JRC is not very concerned about circulation losses. With some exceptions they've bought smaller papers that nobody else really wanted in shrinking old towns, and they didn't pay that much because buyers and sellers alike knew the town and the paper were probably in irreversible decline. Which would scare most companies that focus on growth, but not JRC. They'll squeeze as much profit as possible out of the place knowing that in general no matter how many readers stop buying it, there is no real alternative for some advertisers, especially auto dealers, so for the most part the ad money will continue no matter how thin the news product gets. This is why they do not appear especially freaked when a Troy, N.Y., shrinks from 42K circulation to 15K or a New Britain, Conn., shrinks from 35K to 12K since they took over. By the time the paper has become virtually worthless, they will have sucked out enough money to cover the purchase price two or three times over. JRC hastens the inevitable, and in needlessly mean-spirited fashion, but understand that most of these papers did not have especially bright futures before JRC came along. If they had potential, the owners would have sold them to a decent company that would not instantly dismantle something that took decades to build.
