CIRCULATION PLUMMETS AT STRIKING PAPERS.(MAIN)

Byline: New York Times

Circulation at the two striking Detroit newspapers has declined by more than 30 percent since workers went on strike in July 1995, according to the first audited subscriber figures since the strike, released Monday.

Both the newspaper management and the union officials claimed that the numbers, for the first quarter of 1996, were victories for their sides.

For the period ended Mar. 31, The Detroit Free Press, the morning newspaper owned by Knight-Ridder Inc., had an average daily circulation …