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%.

Continue reading Newspaper ad revenue of 28%, 8 quarters of double-digit drops

Newspaper ad revenue of 28%, 8 quarters of double-digit drops originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 20 Nov 2009 16:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Surprise! Americans daily media time drops in 2006 originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 08 Aug 2007 13:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

• Newspaper publishers are "cautiously optimistic" according to the AP and willing to increase the number of newspapers they are enrolling in the program
• Google is planning on expanding this program

Google's print ad program prospers originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 18 Jul 2007 10:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Dow Jones (NYSE:DJ) has heard the clarion call of the Internet and responded with a sweeping redesign of the Wall Street Journal, about three years too late. Despite all of the talk in the Reader's Guide in today's paper about "excellence" and meeting the expectations of today's busy reader, the reasons for the changes have more to do with the shift of advertising to the internet and a desire to cut down on newsprint costs. Neither trend is new and Dow Jones probably should have reduced the size of the paper several years ago. The company shrunk the international edition of the Journal in 2005. Dow Jones estimates that it will save $18 million from the changes to the Journal.

The design itself will take some getting used to. The Journal is 20 percent narrower which will make it easier for commuters to handle. Dow Jones says it will be running "the same or more news articles than we do today." I like the look overall. The paper seems easier to read and the graphics are improved. It wouldn't surprise me if the New York Times (NYSE:NYT) made similar changes.

But for the long-suffering Dow Jones investors, the question remains whether this is going to make a difference in terms of advertising and circulation revenue. The jury will be out on that question for a while. Newspapers, as has been said ad nauseum, need to change in order to survive. Though internet revenue is growing by leaps and bounds, it remains a small slice of the pie for publishers. Dow Jones is trying to make the Journal more relevant and appealing to a broader set of advertisers. Still, about the only thing that seems to move the company's stock is rumors of a possible sale.

Wall Street Journal redesign is several years too late originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 02 Jan 2007 10:46:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.