Revenue dropped on two fronts, a “continuing drop in classified ads” driven by the uptake of internet advertising, and cutbacks from mainstream advertisers as the US economy continues to slow. The drops were not even, with the New York Times dropping 15.3% compared to the Boston Globe dropping a whopping 24.5%. Year to date, total revenue for the company has dropped 6.1%. Circulation was down 0.5%.

The news wasn’t all bad, with online ad revenue rising 5.5% (0.9% on a company wide basis) and overall online revenue up 2.6% off the back of strong gains from About.com. The company noted that online ad sales have increased into August.

The mix in these numbers is the interesting side: even in a weak economy, online is growing where print is declining, demonstrating that although it would appear that the New York Times Company hasn’t got the mix equation right (online is not fully replacing print yet), they are at least positioning themselves to create substantive online revenue as the print business drops off. Consider also that if the New York Times can’t get the mix right yet as one of America’s most prestigious media outlets, lesser companies will struggle further.

(YNews via The Industry Standard)

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