Everybody's doing it!

Newsday Says Its Circulation Was Inflated, as Was Hoy's:

Two newspapers owned by the Tribune Company, Newsday and the Spanish-language daily Hoy, inflated circulation figures by as much as 19 percent for the year ended last September, Newsday announced yesterday. The paper placed its vice president of circulation on administrative leave.
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The Newsday announcement comes less than two weeks after Tribune said it was cutting expenses at many of its 14 daily newspapers - but particularly The Los Angeles Times - because of advertising losses that were centered in Los Angeles. Newsday reported last week that its publisher, Raymond Jansen, was seeking to lay off more than four dozen pressroom employees to meet Tribune's budget mandates, but was being rebuffed by the union that represents them.

Newsday's disclosures also come just two days after Hollinger International reported that one of its daily papers, The Chicago Sun-Times, had been overstating its circulation figures. While the company said the size of the overstatement was unclear, it said such practices had apparently occurred over several years.

Naughty, naughty! Too bad there isn't also a comeuppance for self esteem inflation.