Bolstered by an improving economy and a turnaround in classified, an industry group predicts that newspapers will benefit from a 4.1 percent boost in ad spending in the new year. The Newspaper
Association of America said Monday that total advertising would rise to $46.9 billion in 2004, compared to an estimated $45.04 billion in 2003 (up 2.1 percent) and $44.1 billion in 2002 (a drop of 0.5
percent). NAA upped its estimates in 2004 for all major categories, including national (up 6.5 percent), retail (up 3 percent), and classified (up 4.5 percent). The NAA predicted that help-wanted ads
would increase in the upper single digits in 2004.
