• by adam.m , Michael Deibert , August 15, 2005

The nation's largest newspaper publisher, Gannett Co., announced a slight rise in July revenue, which it attributed to increased local advertising demand in Gannett's domestic publications.

The rise saw revenue from media properties owned at least one year climb 0.7 percent to a total of $629.2 million last month, representing an increase of $624.7 million over the year before.

The company's pro forma newspaper advertising revenues in July also increased 2.6 percent over the same time period in 2004, on a 2.6 percent decrease in ROP volume.

Local ad revenue moved up by 4.7 percent to $176.3 million, while classified ad sales rose to $188.4 million--an increase of 1.8 percent. National ads, however, decreased 0.7 percent to $59.5 million.

Broadcasting revenue also declined, but more sharply--falling 11.1 percent to $58.3 million, a drop that Gannett said was a result of "significantly lower political advertising."

Noting the absence of political and Olympic advertising that percolated through the market during the third quarter of 2004, Gannett estimated that television revenues for the third quarter of 2005 "would be below last year's comparable period in the high teens."

Gannett Co., Inc. publishes 101 daily newspapers in the United States, including USA Today, and also owns some 900 non-daily publications. Gannett's United Kingdom subsidiary, Newsquest, publishes some 17 daily newspapers, among other concerns.