Newspaper Ad Revenue Worsens in Q2 09

Newspaper ad sales slumped 29% in Q2. Newspaper ad losses have grown worse in each of the last 12 quarters, experiencing the worst declines in newspaper history.

For the second quarter, newspaper ad sales were at $6.8 billion, down from $9.6 billion last year. Print advertising fell 30%, with Classifieds falling 40%; job recruitment ad sales fell 66%, the worst of any classified category, according to Bloomberg.

Even online ad revenue was significantly affected by the downturn in newspaper advertising and the recession in general, slipping 16%.

For the first half, ad revenue fell 29%, to $13.4 billion. Ad revenue fell 28% in the first quarter.

The numbers, released by the Newspaper Association of America, give perspective to what John Sturm, chief executive of the association, calls “a terrible stretch of bad road,” writes Mediaweek.

Newspaper industry execs hope the newspaper ad downturn hit bottom in the second quarter, and that the freshening economy will push advertisers to begin spending again, particularly as the holiday season approaches.

Sturm says that as advertisers return to spending, newspapers will be “extremely well positioned” to harness the strength of print and digital platforms.

Outsell analyst Ken Doctor said, in a recent report, that newspapers have failed to move fast enough in the transition from print to digital revenue, and it is this failure that has helped speed their decline.