Newspaper Ad Revenue Continues Death Spiral

Coming off record losses in 2008, things are getting even worse this year. Still, every media report continues to ignore the relentless leftwing slant of major newspapers as even the slightest factor.

US newspaper advertising revenue fell more than 28 percent in the first quarter of the year with both print and online posting declines, according to the Newspaper Association of America.

Print advertising revenue fell 29.7 percent in the first three months of the year compared with the same period last year to 5.9 billion dollars, according to figures posted on the NAA website.

Online advertising revenue declined 13.4 percent during the period to 696.3 million dollars.

Print and online advertising revenue were down 28.3 percent to 6.6 billion dollars during the quarter while classified advertising revenue alone declined by 42.3 percent during the period to 1.46 billion dollars.

The weak revenue figures for the first quarter come on the heels of the worst year ever for the US newspaper industry.

Total newspaper advertising revenue fell 16.6 percent in 2008 over the previous year to 37.8 billion dollars, according to the NAA.

The US newspaper industry has been struggling with competition from free classified ad sites such as Craigslist and the migration of readers to free sites online.