Reuters reports that first quarter newspaper ad revenue drops precipitously.

Combined print and online newspaper advertising revenues totaled $6.6 billion in the first quarter of 2009, a precipitous tumble of more than 28% over the same period in 2008 when total revenue was $9.2 billion, according to figures from the Newspaper Association of America.

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Q1 saw across-the-board declines in both print and online formats, NAA reported. Print classified advertising took the hardest hit, falling 42% over the same period last year, while other print formats – including national (-26%) and retail (-24%) – contributed to the steep revenue drops. Overall, print declined nearly 28%, from $8.4 billion in Q108 to $5.9 billion in Q109.

Print expenditures are now at roughly the same levels as they were in 1985, NAA data revealed.

Online newspaper advertising revenues amounted to $696 million for the quarter, declining 13% over the $804 million logged in Q108.

Overall, the figures represent the most dramatic year-over-year quarterly decline since recordkeeping began.

The situation is unlikely to improve in the near future. A combination of declining readership and the disappearance of large retailers and other businesses will continue to put pressure on the paper’s bottom lines.  Even more disturbing for the industry is the decline in online ad dollars which they had been counting on to replace to some degree what they were losing offline. 

 

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