Still, online ad revenue is
still a bigger part of the total, at 7.1% in the first three months of this year, up from 5.5%. But that dovetails with a sharp decline in print, which fell 6.4% to $9.8 billion. The online growth was
not enough to push up the total spend, which fell 4.8%.
Classified advertising was the worst performer, falling 13.2% to $3.4 billion, with sharp drops in real estate, help-wanted and automotive. "While the classified category demonstrates the impact of how consumers and advertisers use the various media options available today, newspapers continue to make aggressive moves to redefine classified advertising revenue through new online partnerships and other approaches that will position them for the future," says John Sturm, president and CEO of the NAA.
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