There is, it seems, a significant desertion of American newspapers by advertisers. The Newspaper Association of America reports that sales fell 14 per cent in the first quarter of 2008 over the previous year. That is a record tumble. While newspaper Web sites gathered 7.2 per cent more revenue, that $804-million total wasn't anywhere near enough to offset the losses in the $8.43 billion result.
Real estate and recruitment advertising was most affected, each down some 35 per cent. A Borrell Associates analyst told Bloomberg News that many such advertisers are shifting their spending to their own sites for the time being. Business Week notes the rapidly changing landscape for the U.S. papers, which have been hit harder than any other country's print media.
