It was a horrible May for Media General as the company reported monthly ad revenue at its newspapers fell almost 15% in May, fueled by a big swoon at the Tampa Tribune. An economic downturn in Florida cut into the numbers, says CEO Marshall Morton, and the company was also hit by "significant weakness" in classified. "We were very disappointed to see the retail category decline, a reflection of major retailers holding back on spending in virtually every market," Morton says. "We saw a few bright spots in May, including increases in real estate classified advertising in Richmond, …

MTV Networks has launched a global, youth-focused climate-change campaign called MTV Switch featuring 35 PSAs on television, along with online and mobile components. The effort, aimed at 15-25 year olds, promotes more environmentally friendly lifestyles with tips on how viewers can help cut down on carbon emissions. With programming in 162 countries, MTV says the campaign has the potential to reach nearly 1.5 billion people worldwide. Plus, all of the PSAs are available rights-free and cost-free to everyone in the world. More than 25 broadcasters have already signed on to run some of them.

New ads for the 2008 Ford Focus may not be run by JWT, the auto company's primary agency. According to insiders, the company is talking to at least two other shops for the business. The Focus, due out this fall, offers new "Sync" technology -- a voice-activated option that controls text messaging, music and other features. While JWT will bid for the account, Ford is looking for some competition. "It's similar to what Toyota does with Saatchi," says one insider. "This is not leaving JWT." Toyota occasionally goes with agencies other than Saatchi & Saatchi, its primary shop. …

Suburban Newspapers of America and 10 community newspaper chains are joining forces to put together a national advertising network. Set to launch in August, the effort is aimed at making it easier for national advertisers to do business with multiple suburban and community newspapers and all SNA members are invited to join. "Right now, our segment of the newspaper industry is somewhat fragmented and complicated to buy," explains Susan Karol, executive director of SNA. "The network will remove that barrier and open up a new option for national advertisers looking for an alternative to metro newspapers." The …

NBC's broadcast of the Summer Olympic Games in Beijing next year may suffer from a growing backlash against China's ties to the government of Sudan. Actress Mia Farrow, who also acts as the as Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF, has been calling them "Genocide Olympics," due to the carnage in Darfur. China is a big investor in Sudan's oil industry and has done little if anything to stop the violence in Darfur. Farrow has urged people to contact sponsors of the Olympics and ask them to withhold support of the games until there is a peaceful resolution. During …

The kids section of The Washington Post decide to find out how well an ad for Cocoa Krispies cereal worked on its targets, so it lined up a focus group of local fourth-graders and sixth-graders. They were shown the spot and asked to write what they thought the idea was, along with what they liked and disliked about it. The kids got the message of the ad, that the stuff tastes great and most thought it was pretty cool. But they also noticed information that wasn't there, and everyone felt there should have been some talk about nutrition. …

Group M and NBC Universal have inked an upfront deal worth between $800 million and $1 billion, according to insiders -- and it includes all NBC dayparts, cable channels and Spanish-language network Telemundo. It was done with very specific strategies using Nielsen's new live-plus three commercial ratings. While CPMs were not revealed, media buyers have said that NBC was looking for 10% to 12% increases, ABC wants 12% and Fox 14%. Going to NBC first seems a wise move, as it is the weakest net, due to ratings declines. By starting with NBC, media buyers may be hoping …

The Department of Defense is giving Mullen another shot at its joint-services-recruitment business, giving the shop a piece of business that could be worth $50 million a year. But how big the one-year contract will be (it can also be extended for up to four years) depends on how much Congress allows the Pentagon to spend. Measured media spending behind the account has been about $12 million to $15 million a year, with total spending less than $50 million. Mullen has had the account since 2002, and its most recent effort targets parents and other influencers of possible recruits, …

The Media Access Project and the Institute for Public Representation, working for the United Church of Christ and Media Alliance, are urging the Federal Communications Commission to deny Tribune Co.'s request to be allowed to continue to own both newspapers and broadcast outlets in Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, South Florida and Hartford, Conn. The waiver requests were prompted by the company's plan to go private by the end of this year, and a change of ownership would nix the grandfathered exemptions it had to cross-ownership rules. So Tribune wants temporary exemptions pending completion of possible revisions to the FCC …

Republican presidential contender Mitt Romney is stepping up an aggressive early ad push in his quest for the nomination--and it looks to be helping him move up in the field. Romney has forked over about $4 million for TV ads since February, mostly in early-voting states like Iowa and New Hampshire. And he bumped his spend up a lot last month with more than $2 million, largely on national cable advertisements. The former Massachusetts governor has also added a raft of TV spots in South Carolina. Few, if any, of his rivals have even bought time yet. But Romney …