• Editor & Publisher, Wednesday, January 23, 2008 10:45 AM

Lee Enterprises had a rough go of it in the fiscal first quarter as the newspaper firm reported a 6.2% slide in operating revenues to $279 on weakness in advertising -- including a nearly 20% plunged in real estate classifieds.

The company's profit dropped from 58 cents a share to 48 cents and operating cash flow was off 10%. Total ad revenue declined 6.5% to $217.6 million, even as online ad revenue jumped 24%. National advertising was off 24.1%, while circulation revenue was down 4.3%. But it could be worse, says CEO Mary Junck. "We believe we're weathering the current economic slowdown as well as possible in light of the wide-ranging impact of the real estate slump," she says.

"Our audiences continue to grow, and we continue to focus on our top priorities of revenue growth, online innovation, strong local news, people development and cost control."

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