Ms. Welsh said that the online media were contributing to a drop in readership of mainstream newspapers, which are facing increasing commercial pressure to include alternative voices, despite the government regulations.
The Journal now has the biggest circulation in the country, surpassing USA Today, which suffered an enormous 17.5% drop in readership over the same period.
That means a drop in readership at The Sun doesn't have a significant impact on the company's financial performance, analysts said.
"Drops in readership, those are not signs of power.
But the new owner will face challenges that go beyond the drops in readership and advertising familiar to all print-media moguls.
Mostly he frets about a sharp drop in female readership.
He worked exclusively for Picture Post until it closed in 1957 following a gradual decline in readership and competition for advertising with commercial television.
Penguin Allen Lane launched a separate imprint for business books called Penguin Portfolio in India in 2006, when readership for the genre began accelerating.
Many magazines are hurting lately, but Playboy has been on a downward spiral in readership and ads for a long time.
But not necessarily for drop-ins.
