• Bloomberg, Sunday, October 18, 2009 9:58 PM

Los Angeles Times' publisher, Tribune Co., along with New York Times Co. and Hearst, say marketing spending from car makers such as GM and Daimler AG has rebounded in the third quarter. That may have helped stanch the severe decline of advertising sales earlier this year.

Experts believe overall ad sales at U.S. newspaper publishers fell 23% in the third quarter to $6.85 billion, easing from declines of 28%-29% in the second and first quarters. Carmakers, which slashed national ad spending by 44% in the first half, bought advertisements again as the government's "cash for clunkers" program to buy more fuel- efficient vehicles boosted demand. Indeed, national auto campaigns may have mitigated the drop-off from larger ad categories, says John Janedis, a Well Fargo analyst.

Pretty soon we will know if they are right. The New York Times and other newspaper publishers will be reporting third-quarter earnings in the next few weeks. NYT sales, for example, are believed to have fallen 18% to $561.3 million in Q3, based on the average of analysts' estimates compiled by Bloomberg.

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