Any moment soon, if Fleet Street whispers speak true, the circulations of the Telegraph and Times will both take a very cold bath. Instead of the 801,782 circulation a day that it claims in September's audited figures, the Telegraph will droop to 708,779 (how long ago the fight to hang on to a magic million now seems). And the Times, at 523,648 rather than 571,506, will appear similarly chastened. What's happening out there? Nothing much, really. It's just that what's currently being given away for free won't be given away any more.

Bulks – those tens of thousands of copies dumped at airports and hotels – are another victim of the crunch. Maybe they boost some readership figures, help to encourage sampling and make editors feel more successful than they are. But truly, dished out automatically month after month, they're crutches of self-delusion, a dead weight of costs way past their (non-)sell-by date.

The Guardian and the Observer have foresworn them entirely (and managed monthly rises of 1.15% and 6.59% respectively). The Telegraph and Times, still holding tight to most of their bulks, were both slightly down on August. What's the point of paying a steep price and hanging on to little worthwhile? No point. Expect the Indy, Mail and FT to start parallel agonisings, too.

The newspaper industry has made up its mind. It doesn't like wasting millions – and doesn't at all welcome the notion that news comes free, whether in print or on the net. Bulks give a contrary impression. Bulks must go because news is expensive to gather and must have a price.

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