• by Erik Sass  @eriksass1, November 12, 2009

There was more grim news for newspapers Thursday, with quarterly results from Lee Enterprises showing total ad revenues fell 23.8% from $184 million in the third quarter of 2008 to $140.5 million in the same period this year. The Lee results are the latest in yet another round of negative revenue reports from major newspaper publishers.

Like some other publishers, Lee saw positive earnings in the third quarter despite the steep revenue decline, thanks mostly to a stringent cost-cutting initiative that reduced expenses about 25% -- and will continue into December with an additional estimated 15% in cuts. The expense reductions helped buoy operating cash flow, up 10.5%.

Still, the overall revenue trend was still pointed firmly downward: classified advertising revenue fell 31.8%, with real estate down 29%, automotive tumbling 31%, and employment plunging an alarming 56%. Retail revenues fell 19.7%. Like other big newspaper publishers, Lee also saw online revenues decrease -- suffering a 24.7% drop, mostly due to the collapse of online classified revenues,

In addition to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Lee owns 48 other daily newspapers and a joint interest in four others, online sites and more than 300 specialty publications in 23 states.

Lee's third-quarter results were typical for the newspaper industry in general.

Gannett's total newspaper revenues sank 23.5% from $1.3 billion to $1 billion; The New York Times Co. saw overall revenues fall 17% from $687 million to $570.6 million; McClatchy's revenues tumbled 23.1% from $452 million to $347.4 million; The Washington Post Co.'s publishing revenues fell 20% from $196.2 million to $156.3 million.

Also, A.H. Belo's revenues sank 17.5% from $153.8 million to $126.9 million, while E.W. Scripps saw newspaper revenues fall 20% from $130 million to $104 million.