'USA Today' is #1 in national circulation

Sometimes referred to as the nation's newspaper, USA Today has been ranked #1 in national circulation:

The agency that tallies newspaper circulation figures used by advertisers has changed its methodology to account for the increasingly diverse array of digital distribution channels, making USA TODAY once again the national leader in total circulation.

Rounding out the top five:

• The Wall Street Journal's five-day average circulation fell to 2.27 million from 2.29 million a year ago. The paper, which surpassed USA TODAY as the nation's top newspaper in circulation in 2009, prints a general weekend edition but no Sunday paper.

• The New York Times' five-day average circulation rose to 1.89 million from 1.61 million a year ago. Its Sunday edition had 2.39 million readers, up from 2.1 million a year ago.

• The Los Angeles Times' five-day average circulation climbed to 671,797 from 641,370 a year ago. The Sunday edition reported 963,751 in circulation, up from 962,194.

• New York Daily News' five-day average circulation fell to 467,110 from 535,875 a year ago. Its Sunday edition fell to 587,063 from 655,647.