The New York Times on newspapers: “The growth in online advertising they saw as their salvation has slowed to a crawl.” Newspaper site revenue actually fell 2.4% in the second quarter, after 17 straight quarters of growth. More bad news: overall online advertising is strong – just not at the local paper sites. The story doesn’t mention local TV, but I’d be willing to guess the sites are in the same boat for the most part. There is one smart piece of advice: limit your stinking ads.
[An analyst] said limiting the ads on a page can be smart. “That high level of unsold inventory often creates a real challenge in terms of sustaining pricing or growing pricing,†he said. “In most media, especially in television, the traditional model has been that you drive sellout, and that gives you the ability to drive pricing over time.â€
