As if the news couldn't get much worse for U.S. newspapers, new data indicate they are lagging considerably in online sales compared to other Web sites.
Their share of the Internet advertising market has declined and the gap between their sales and the overall Web sales has widened.
Alan Mutter, in his Reflections of a Newsosaur blog, identifies some key problems associated with the stall in sales: Newspapers don't offer search advertising, and they rely principally on their print advertisers for sales.
Mutter suggests the only route forward is for newspaper sites to develop very un-newspaper-like mobile and Web venues that are much more in tune with the social-media culture.
