Newspaper Ad Profits Down Despite Increase in Online Ads

A 21% third-quarter increase in newspapers' online advertising revenues was not enough to offset a print ad spending decline that brought total ad spending down 7.4% to $10.9B. As major newspaper companies grapple with contracting print revenues and declining profits, Gannett's USA Today has announced 8.8% cuts of editorial staff, Reuters reports.

This was the 14th consecutive quarter of double-digit percentage growth for the online ad sector, which now accounts for 7.1% of newspaper ad spending, up from 5.4% a year ago but still not enough to offset print ad losses. Classified ads, down 17%, have been especially hard hit, followed by retail ads, which are down 4.9%.