The pissing and moaning amongst American newspaper types is ubiquitous. But in other parts of the world, newspaper circulation is actually up. Now why would that be?

Some excerpts from a USA Today opinion piece carried on Yahoo! News:

The world's first newspaper, called Relation, was published 400 years ago in Europe in Strasbourg. Now there are 6,580 daily newspapers worldwide, with a combined circulation of 395 million.

That anniversary was celebrated here this week by 1,300 newspaper executives from 80 countries at the annual convention of WAN (World Association of Newspapers). Most reported circulation growth the past year. Exceptions were in North America and Europe. Continental breakdowns:

• South America, up 6.3%.

• Africa, up 6%.

• Asia, up 4.1%.

• North America, down 0.2%.

• Europe, down 1.4%.

Any explanation?

Newspapers in Asia emphasize news. The volume of news exceeds the volume of advertising. In many U.S. newspapers, the reverse is true.

Also, newspapers in Asia generally are more fair and accurate than some in Europe or the USA. London's tabloids are the most notorious muckrakers and make no apologies for it. Most newspapers in the USA are reliable, but some biggies have apologized lately for phony news, including USA TODAY and The New York Times.

How to attract more readers by putting more news in the paper, with accuracy and fairness above all else, may be the best 400th anniversary gift for modern-day editors and publishers in North America and Europe from their Asian counterparts.