According to the U.S. Local Media Annual Forecast, 2008-2013, by BIA Advisory Services and its Kelsey Group, current and foreseeable economic conditions will reduce overall local advertising spending through 2013. BIA/Kelsey forecasts U.S. local advertising revenues to decline from $155.3 billion in 2008 to $144.4 billion in 2013, representing a negative 1.4 percent compound annual growth rate. According to the forecast, the interactive segment (mobile, Internet Yellow Pages, local search, online verticals and classifieds, voice search, e-mail marketing and other interactive revenues generated by traditional media players) will grow from $14 billion in 2008 to $32.1 billion in 2013.

According to a new white paper by Winterberry Group, with rising postage rates and growing marketer preference for low-cost digital communications, total U.S. direct mail spending declined 3.0% in 2008, and was accompanied by an even more significant cutback in mail volume. According to the report, a rapid drop-off in financial services mail activity (brought on by the crisis in the banking and mortgage sectors) fueled the overall decline in mail spending, the channel's first in a recorded history that began in 1945. Further decay in mail activity is expected to continue through the course of the recession, at which …

The conclusion drawn in a new report from Merkle, "View from the Inbox," 2009, is that Email continues to be a popular marketing communications channel in today's challenging economic climate due to its low cost-per-contact and its ability to provide direct, measurable results. But, consumers' attitudes and behavior regarding email continue to change.

A new survey of American readers by The Rosen Group, about the state of current and future media, found that nearly 80% of respondents still subscribe to magazines and 83% find that daily newspapers are still relevant. 45% though, of those surveyed, said that newspapers and magazines will exist in 10 years, while 40% were uncertain.

According to the TNS Compete and the Consumer Electronics Association joint study, Greying Gadgets: How Older Americans Shop for and Use Consumer Electronics, the age segments of 50-somethings, 60-somethings and 70+ use many technologies at or near comparable rates as younger age segments. Consumers in their 50s are as likely to own, or plan on buying, an HDTV as those under 50. Eighty percent of 60-somethings used a cell phone in the past week, nearly equal the usage rates of 18-34 year olds. Additionally, 71 percent of 60-somethings and 52 percent of 70-somethings used a search engine in the …

A new survey of American consumer attitudes to Wall Street by The Harris Poll of 1,010 adults surveyed between February 10 and 15, 2009, finds that 83% of adults thinks that bonuses paid by financial institutions, that lost money in 2008, should be returned and be paid to shareholders. 87% believe that "recent events have shown that Wall Street should be subject to tougher regulation."

According to a new report from Netpop Research, "Media Shifts to Social," the percent of time people spend communicating online has increased 18% since 2006, while time spent on entertainment has declined 29%. The Executive Summary says that Online entertainment is shifting to a small, powerful proportion of social media contributors fueling Web activity through blogs micro-blogs, social media, video and photo sharing.

According to a new survey by The Smiley Group and Nationwide Insurance, 58% of African Americans expect their household situation to be better a year from now, compared to only 30% of the general population. However, the majority of those responding acknowledge they don't have a financial game plan and many don't know where to start.

According to the "2009 Online Customer Experience, Next Generation Survey," from Adobe Scene7, to identify what businesses plan to do in 2009 to enhance online customer experience and drive conversions, 92% of all respondents will be conducting customer experience projects within the coming year. Compared to last year, where over 53% were planning new projects within six months, this year, perhaps due to economic climate, these projects have shifted to the latter half of 2009.

According to Veronis Suhler Stevenson (VSS), revising the forecast downward in response to the current economic downturn, overall media spend is forecasted to decline by 0.4% in 2009, after an increase of 2.3% in 2008. The revised forecast is down from a previous estimate of 5.4% growth for the year. The figure for 2009 represents the lowest industry growth rate, and only the second decline, in the three decades that Veronis has been collecting data, the company reported. The hardest-hit media segments, according to the new forecast, are newspaper publishing, projected to decline by 16% (following a 13.5% decline …