Although readers' migration from print to Web is the biggest reason top U.S. newspapers sell about 10 percent fewer copies now than in 2000, much of that decline has been intentional, the International Herald Tribune reported Monday.

“Driven by marketing and delivery costs and pressure from advertisers, many papers have decided certain readers are not worth the expense involved in finding, serving and keeping,” the article stated.

As it turns out, tailoring marketing to certain readers is just easier, and more cost effective, than trying to reach all potential readers.

“It's a rational business decision of newspapers focusing on quality circulation rather than quantity, shedding the subscribers who cost more and generate less revenue,” Colby Atwood, president of media research firm Borrell Associates, told the Tribune.

Advertisers also had their part in the decision, as they have learned how to target Internet audiences and are striving to be more cost-effective in who they reach.

In the past, advertisers were more willing “to assign some value to the occasional reader, the student, the reader who doesn't match a certain profile,” Jason Klein, chief executive of the marketing alliance the Newspaper National Network, told the Tribune. But now, preprinted ad sponsors are increasingly telling newspapers that some circulation isn't worthwhile for them.

“The insert advertisers look to flood the area within five miles of their stores or flood certain ZIP codes ... They're not interested in hitting a scattering of readers, and they don't want to pay for it,” Klein said.

Because of these new demands by advertisers, and because of do-not-call laws and an increase in mobile phone users, newspapers are cutting back on cold-calling people to offer discounts. Besides, the Tribune reported, most customers who subscribe because of promotions and cold calls drop their subscriptions when the discount expires, which means it can cost more to pursue them than what they pay for the paper. And even though ad sales are dropping, most U.S. newspapers still make more money from selling ads than from circulation.

“So the industry is accepting that circulation will fall and hoping to find a level that can be sustained with little effort,” the article stated.

And although there are exceptions – many tabloids try to gain as many readers as possible – the majority of paid dailies are trying to learn this balancing act.

“Newspapers have not spent a lot of money on that kind of self-promotion, and I think that has hindered our long-term growth,” John Kimball, chief marketing officer at the Newspaper Association of America, told the Tribune.