Newspaper industry is performing even worse than it was expected at the beginning of the year, said Fitch Rating in its latest report on the outlook for newspapers. The leading global rating agency reported especially those in the nation’s top four media chains, is bleak as print publications continue to experience declines in advertising.
According to the report, year-to-date (which is through July of 2007) operating performance for some of the largest newspapers has been weaker than the rating agency initially estimated. Consequently, the agency’s outlook for the newspaper industry remains negative.
According to the agency’s report, ad pages are slipped by as much as 17 per cent at newspapers such as USA Today, with real estate classifieds in community newspapers down by 20 per cent. That means the slump in the real estate industry is not just affecting buildings and mortgage lenders, but now it has a considerable influence on newspapers as well.
Other newspapers such as the Tribune are apparently showing a decline in classified advertising, with advertising in real estate and employment down by 24 per cent and 19 per cent, respectively.
In the meanwhile, a separate report released by the Newspaper Association of America, said that during the three months ended June 30, total ad revenue at US newspapers totaled $11.3 billion, down 8.6 per cent from the corresponding period last year. The latest survey by NAA also outlined that the fourth consecutive quarterly decline in total ad revenue, following a 4.8 per cent fall in the first quarter and drops of 1.5 per cent and 2.2 per cent, respectively, in the third and fourth quarters of 2006.
