Newspaper Ad Spending Rises, But Recovery Remains Uncertain

january 30, 2004  09:05 am
Three more of the nation's publicly traded newspaper companies on Thursday reported higher advertising revenues in the fourth quarter, although a long hoped-for, all-out newspaper recovery hasn't materialized yet. Print advertising revenues at The Washington Post rose 3 percent to $572.2 million in 2003 compared to the year before, and increased 4 percent to $155.9 million in the fourth quarter compared to a year ago. General and preprint advertising revenues rose in the fourth quarter and full year and offset declines in classified and retail. And although classified revenue was down at The Post, help-wanted revenues actually rose $800,000 or 6 percent in the fourth quarter, even though volume was flat. It was the first rise in revenues in employment classifieds since 2000.