Pew: 2010 Online Readership and Ad Revenue Surpasses Print Newspapers

For the first time, online readership and advertising revenue has surpassed that of print newspapers. Newspaper ad revenue in 2010 fell 46 percent in four years to an estimated $22.8 billion, with an additional $3 billion more for online advertising according to the report. Meanwhile online advertising is at $25.8 billion in 2010. Online advertising revenue in the United States is projected to overtake print newspaper ad revenue in 2010, according to the latest report, the State of the News Media, from the Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism. The study also found that more people -- 46 percent of Americans surveyed -- said they get news online at least three times a week, versus 40 percent who said they get their news from newspapers and their companion websites, Reuters reports. The study, available here, also finds that less progress has been made charging for news than predicted, but there are some signs of willingness to pay, and that there is a great deal of potential in local news, calling it “the vast untapped territory.”