Newspaper Advertising Plunges!

Posted on March 28, 2008 | Permalink

By Lane Casteix

The newspaper industry has experienced the worst drop in ad revenues in 50 years. There are a number of factors contributing to this. Among them is the fact that readership is dropping rapidly as well. Ad costs are based on circulation. Readership down, then they must charge less for the ad, because fewer consumers will be reached.

Many papers are seen as biased to one political party or another, and there are numerous alternative sources of news, such as TV and the internet. Cable TV and the internet offer the news on a basis that is very current and convenient; you can get the news when you want it. This is a big advantage over the "old tech" of newspapers.

Another reason is the moving of advertising dollars to interactive forms of advertising, such as the internet, where ROI (Return On Investment) has become king. These mediums are far more effective at measuring response. The advertiser can determine how well his ad is working and find that out much quicker. This reduces advertising cost and increases the effectiveness of the dollars spent.