• The Associated Press, Thursday, July 24, 2008 9:30 AM

As the newspaper industry is being knocked back on its heels, the New York Times Co. Wednesday reported an 11% drop in second-quarter advertising revenue and an 82% plunge in quarterly earnings compared with a year ago, when the bottom line was boosted by the sale of a broadcast unit.

The outlook for the current quarter is no better. Advertising revenue fell 18% in June, and there has been no improvement so far in July, says CEO Janet Robinson. Advertisers "are really saving dollars" to offset higher energy costs and lower consumer spending.

"The economy has gotten worse in June and the second half is going to be more of a struggle for all newspaper publishers," says industry analyst Edward Atorino. NYT quarterly earnings from continuing operations slid 6%. Excluding one-time items, earnings were 26 cents per share, beating analyst estimates of 22 cents per share.

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