Newspapers across the country take another smack from readers. They are buying fewer and fewer newspapers, including the Plain Dealer.

 Six month circulation figures for newspapers showed steep declines. The Plain Dealer’s daily circulation was down 11.2 percent and Sunday circulation dropped 4.9 percent.

The report was published in Editor & Publisher magazine. The figures come from the Audit Bureau of Circulations.

E&P said that newspapers are unable to “shake the dramatic declines in circulation.”

The PD’s daily circulation is 271,180 as of Sept. 2009 and Sunday circulation was 390,636 in the same six month period.

That’s still a lot of newspaper readers.

The PD daily circulation for the period ending March 31 this year was 291,730. The drop was nearly 20,000 a day for the six month period.