Newspaper Ads Drop To A 25-Year Low
Newspapers as a whole are dying, the end is near. They just couldn’t or more likely, wouldn’t keep up with the times. Declining ad revenues are the tip if the iceberg.
I predict five years from now, 80% of the newspapers in the United States will be completely gone, 17% teetering on the edge of bankruptcy, 2% keeping their head above water, land only 1% making a profit. If I’m not spot on, I’m close.
Newspaper advertising in the U.S. has sunk to a 25-year low as marketing budgets followed readers to the Internet, where advertising is far cheaper than what publishers have been able to command in print.
After adjusting for inflation, newspaper advertising now stands at about the same level as nearly 50 years ago.
Even as the economy has gradually improved since 2009, newspapers are still bringing in less revenue as advertisers embrace free or cheaper Internet alternatives.
Newspapers have cut their staffs, raised their prices and, in the most extreme cases, filed for bankruptcy protection to lighten their debt loads.
Many publishers are pinning their comeback hopes on delivering more news to the growing audience on mobile phones and tablet computers such as Apple Inc.’s iPad.