We've put three quarters behind us in 2009, and the most recent one was merely another miserable step downward for the beleaguered newspaper industry. Total ad revenue plummeted in the third quarter to $6.4 billion for the print jockeys, a decline of 28%. This info from the Newspaper Association of America drives home the notion that conditions will only worsen for the newspaper industry. So, if you're hoping those shares of New York Times Company (NYT), Gannett (GCI) and Washington Post Company (WPO), holding your breath will leave you little more than dizzy.

Of the total advertising revenue generated in the third quarter of 2009, $5.8 million came from print, the lowest quarterly amount this year. The $623 million in online advertising sold by America's newspapers was also 2009's worst. Both are down substantially from the same quarter in 2008, when the newspapers posted print ad revenue of $8.2 million and online ad revenue of $750 million, according to NAA data. At this time last year, we lamented year-over-year declines approaching 20%. Now, we have the same feelings as ad revenue drops approach 30%.

Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) is canning its ambitious web-based Print Ads program that allowed companies to purchase ads in more than 800 newspapers.

In a post on its official blog, Google noted that "While we hoped that Print Ads would create a new revenue stream for newspapers and produce more relevant advertising for consumers, the product has not created the impact that we - or our partners - wanted. As a result, we will stop offering Print Ads on February 28."

So far, all the hype about a culture of innovation at Google hasn't exactly produced impressive results. You can blame that partly on the economy, but 97% of the company's revenue still comes from online advertising. With numbers like that, you have to wonder how much cash has been spent on exciting new projects that will never produce a return. The growth in online ad revenue has reversed this year and while it should rebound when the economy picks up, the days of ultra-rapid growth seem to be over for now.

It's hard to imagine that Google -- the growth darling of growth darlings -- is trading at around 18 times earnings. But if online advertising growth is on the downside and the company can't find other ways to make money, that might be the right price.