Newspaper Giants Exempt From Ad Recovery (Dinosaur Media DeathWatch™)

Media Post ^ | February 25, 2011 | Erik Sass

[abb]

While overall ad spending enjoyed a modest recovery in 2010, that did not extend to newspaper publishers, which suffered another round of declines (albeit smaller than previous ones) in the fourth quarter of the year.

The weak results were rounded out this week by A.H. Belo, publisher of The Dallas Morning News, which announced that total revenues in the fourth quarter came to $130.8 million, down 3.4% from the same period in 2009. The company attributed this to a 6% drop in ad revenue, including a 10.7% drop in display ads and an 8.8% drop in classifieds.

Belo's digital ad revenue decreased 0.9% to $9.9 million, while circulation revenue fell 3.4% to $35.1 million.

For the full year, A.H. Belo said total revenues came to $487.3 million, down 6% from 2009, due mostly to an 11.9% decrease in combined print and digital ad revenues. Display advertising for the full year dropped 15.4% to $119.7 million, while classifieds fell 15.4% to $62.8 million, and digital ad revenue slid 4.1% to $36.6 million.

The weak trend continued at The New York Times Co., which reported that total revenues fell 2.9% in 4Q to $661.7 million, reflecting a 3.1% drop in ad revenues and a 3.6% drop in circulation revenues. For the full year, NYTCO revenues declined 1.9% to $2.39 billion, reflecting a 2.7% drop in advertising revenue and a 0.5% drop in circulation revenue.

The McClatchy Co. reported similar findings: Total revenues in the fourth quarter were $369.9 million, down 5.9% from the same period in 2009, reflecting a 6.9% drop in ad revenues to $287.4 million, and a 3.3% drop in circulation revenues to $69 million. For the full year, revenues came to $1.4 billion -- down 6.5% from $1.5 billion in 2009 -- reflecting an 8.1% drop in advertising revenues to $1 billion, and a 2% drop in circulation revenues, to $272.8 million.

Gannett Co. said publishing revenues declined 4.7% in the fourth quarter to $1.1 billion, reflecting a 5.9% decline in advertising revenue, to $722.3 million. For the full year, publishing advertising revenue slipped 6.1% to $2.7 billion, while publishing circulation revenue fell 5.1% to $1.09 billion.

[abb]

Monday morning good news.

[abb]

ping

[GeronL]

Good, but its going so slow... :P

[Buckeye McFrog]

When told that his Kansas City Chiefs of the AFL were losing a million dollars a year, owner Lamar Hunt supposedly told his accountant “Thanks. At that rate I should be broke by around 2087”.

I am sure guys like George Soros will be subsidizing dinosaur media down to their very last dime.

[bgill]

Can I assume the further they fall into the red, the more they’ll turn against the current regime? Naw. It’s a mass suicide.

[abb]

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/28/business/media/28bookstores.html?ref=business
Publishers Look Beyond Bookstores

http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/02/27/andrew-sullivan-joins-tina-browns-team-at-the-daily-beast-and-newsweek/?ref=business
Andrew Sullivan Joins Daily Beast and Newsweek

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/28/business/media/28own.html?ref=business
Oprah’s New Channel Struggles to Pull in the Viewers

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/28/business/media/28network.html?ref=business
Cutting Out Middleman to Sell Small Ads Online

[bert]

The circulation revenue drops appear to result in a larger advertising revenue drop. The drop in circulation compounds and increases the slope of the down spiral.

Salvation can come only by stopping the reader hemmorage

[FrankR]

I really hate to see the newspapers go...I mean I'll have to start buying those "firestarter" logs for my fireplace if we have "global warming" like we've been having.

And, I guess it will be AARP junk mail for lining my birdcage.

Poor newspapers...they're so stupid they can't figure out what's killing them...

For instance...if this happened the AJC would increase income by 20%, at least...

[abb]

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/28/business/media/28cpb.html?ref=media
PBS Faces New Threat in Federal Budget

http://www.adweek.com/aw/content_display/news/media/e3i66e4ed05425f11d58f10145a7c1985ef
Who’ll Save Time Inc. Now? Rothenberg exit leaves publisher without clear digital strategy

http://www.mediaweek.com/mw/content_display/news/magazines-newspapers/e3i66e4ed05425f11d533d99ff0a90e94f3
Tina Brown, Media Darling

http://adage.com/article/digital/social-media-stole-mind-advertising/149120/
How Social Media Stole Your Mind, Took Advertising With It

http://www.buzzmachine.com/2011/02/24/the-distraction-trope/
The distraction trope

http://www.nationaljournal.com/domesticpolicy/fcc-explores-improved-tv-ratings-v-chip-20110225
FCC Explores Improved TV Ratings, V-Chip

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2046070,00.html
Paper Trail

http://www.medialifemagazine.com/artman2/publish/TV_Reviews_21/The-Oscars-all-in-all-a-pretty-dull-night.asp
The Oscars, all in all, a pretty dull night
The much-hyped awards event came across as awkward

http://www.businessinsider.com/these-charts-explain-the-real-death-of-the-music-industry-2011-2?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+typepad%2Falleyinsider%2Fsilicon_alley_insider+%28Silicon+Alley+Insider%29
The REAL Death Of The Music Industry

http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=145704
Cablers Ready For Interactive Advertising

http://newsosaur.blogspot.com/2011/02/why-feds-should-not-fund-public.html#comments
Why feds should not fund public broadcasting

http://gannettblog.blogspot.com/2011/02/layoffs-estimated-job-reductions-now.html
Layoffs | Estimated job reductions now exceed 200

[Frantzie]

Obama TV is even worse and Fox is not much better.

Hollywood supposedly was shilling for Obama at the Oscars. Until Repubs boycott all media then he will remain in power like hugo Chavez and Mugabe.

[Zakeet]

Mainstream Newser ... display ads down ... classified ads down ... circulation down ... subscription revenues down ... government funding down ... broadcasting segment down ... cable segment down ... cinema segment down ... music segment down ... publishing segment down ... employment down ... recovery prospects dismal ... Libtard propaganda industry growing increasingly desperate!

---

I just summarized all of your postings in one long sentence.

[bgill]

I haven’t watched the Oscars for years. Can’t stand their thank yous that turn into their own little political or cause soap boxes. There is a time and place for such and that isn’t it.

[abb]

Oscars down -7% from last year.

http://www.adweek.com/aw/content_display/news/media/e3ibd13c0d136d8db70ac71e58dcb7f2c16

The Overnights: And the Ratings Oscar Goes to . . . ABC
Despite telecast slipping by 7 percent from one year earlier

[ForGod'sSake]

As near as I can tell from the article, Belo, and others apparently, are getting less than half of their revenues from advertisers in various forms. This is a dramatic change from their heyday when they could count on roughly 70% - 80% of their revenues being generated by ads. Which means they're having to pick off more and more marks at much higher prices for the fishwrap itself to even stay afloat.

Sucks to be them!     ♪♫♪♪♫♪♫

[MovementConservative]

Monday morning good news

yes but sadly the bastards have managed to cut their way to a profit. Those revenues and circulation need to drop through the floor so we can be rid of these corrupt cockroaches in the print media forever.