• by Erik Sass , February 1, 2008

Two newspaper groups reported their fourth-quarter results on Thursday. All were disappointing, heralding yet another round of bad news from the industry in general.

Leading the way was The New York Times Company, where total revenues fell 1.7% to $865.8 million, due mostly to a 4.1% drop in ad revenues. (These figures take into account the fourth quarter of 2007 being a week shorter than in 2006.) Advertising revenues at the news media group in particular fell 5.6%.

Also reporting on Thursday was Media General Inc., where total revenues fell 10%, to $243.8 million--due, in large part, to an 11% drop in newspaper ad revenues.

As in previous quarters, the biggest hits came in classified advertising, where competition from the Internet and a slowing economy have led to double-digit declines across the board in all print categories. Media General said classified revenue fell 22%, and Scripps 19%. NYTCO did not provide a specific figure, with President and CEO Janet L. Robinson merely saying it declined.

The fourth quarter also saw the continuation of an ominous new trend: significant drops in local and national advertising, including retail --with classifieds, traditionally the bread and butter of the newspaper industry. At Media General, national fell 15%, and retail dropped 3%. Without providing specific numbers, NYTCO's Robinson merely admitted that retail was down; national was up slightly at NYTCO.

At NYTCO and Media General, Internet revenues provided a bright spot on their otherwise gloomy ledger books. NYTCO online revenues grew 18% in the quarter to $95.2 million, and 22% for the year overall to $274.7 million. At Media General, interactive revenues jumped 36% in the fourth quarter, due in part to the success of its advergaming business.

However, NYTCO's 18% growth rate in the fourth quarter of 2007 is down substantially from 35% posted in the fourth quarter of 2006; likewise, its full-year growth of 22% is down sharply from 39.2% growth in 2006 overall. The rate of increase has slowed in dollar terms as well: in the fourth quarter of 2007, it added $10.2 million, versus $25.1 million in the same period of 2006, and for the full year 2007 it added $55.5 million, versus an $80 million increase in 2006.