News

Newspaper revenue has fallen sharply in the United States over the past year, but the Canadian industry has avoided the same steep declines, according to data made public yesterday by the Canadian Newspaper Association.

Canadian newspapers reported revenue of $3.58-billion in 2007, a drop of less than 1 per cent compared with the year before.

Of that, print advertising revenue declined 2.4 per cent, to $2.57-billion, but was offset by stronger online ad sales, which increased 29 per cent, to $196-million. Circulation revenue fell 1.2 per cent, to $808.9-million, compared with the previous year when that figure rose 3.8 per cent.

The numbers suggest a continuing divergence with the U.S. newspaper market, which has been battered by steep declines in circulation and advertising revenue. While the Canadian figures have been relatively stable for the past few years, the U.S. industry is dealing with a more significant erosion of its market amid competition with the Internet and other media.

The Newspaper Association of America said print advertising revenue fell 9.4 per cent last year to $42-billion (U.S.) - the largest single-year decline since the U.S. began keeping industry-wide figures in 1950. Online ad sales grew 18.8 per cent. Analysts say U.S. newspapers are under pressure to cut costs, more than papers in other countries.

The Canadian data contains results from 93 daily newspapers, representing more than 95 per cent of daily circulation.