• by Anya Khait , April 20, 2001

Almost everyone in the ad industry is shaking under the enormous weight of crumbling dot-coms, stock prices and ad revenues. Especially the big newspaper groups. For the four weeks ending April 1, 2001, the Journal Register Company advertising revenues were $22.0 million compared to $22.6 million for the four weeks ending March 26, 2000. Excluding the results of the Company's acquisition of Chesapeake Publishing Corporation's New Jersey and Pennsylvania newspapers, the Company's pro forma advertising revenues would have been down 4.6% as compared to the prior year period. But it's not as bad as it seems. "Despite softening in the economy, which was evident in overall advertising revenue trends in March, we were encouraged to see solid advertising revenue performance in several of our newspapers, particularly those in our New York clusters," said Journal Register Company Chairman, President and CEO Robert M. Jelenic.

In New York, The Saratogian in Saratoga Springs was up 31.0% in ad revenue led by strong results in retail and classified real estate. The Oneida Daily Dispatch was up 15.5% with gains in retail and classified automotive. The Record in Troy was up 2.6% with strength in retail, and Taconic Press, a weekly group based in Millbrook, was up 13.0% with strong gains in all categories, particularly classified. In Rhode Island, The Times in Pawtucket was up 3.7% with strength in classified real estate and classified automotive. In greater Philadelphia, The Phoenix in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, was up 16.9% with strong classified results in all categories. The Times Herald in Norristown, Pennsylvania, was up 2.1% with strength in retail, classified real estate and classified automotive. In Connecticut, the New Haven Register was down 6.5% due to weakness in classified, particularly employment. Retail was up 1.6% showing improvement in the category and a reversal from the declines reported in the prior two periods. Our weekly group based in Westport, Minuteman Newspapers, was up 11.3% with strength in retail and classified automotive. On a pro forma basis, page views generated in the period by the Company's Web sites increased 17.2% as compared to the second period of 2001. In Connecticut, ctcentral.com, the Company's largest regional portal, contributed approximately 1.6 million page views for the period.

- Anya Khait may be reached at anya@mediapost.com