NEWSPAPER AD $ FALLS 1.5%

November 22, 2006 -- Combined print and online advertising revenue at U.S. newspapers slid 1.5 percent to $11.8 billion in the third quarter, hurt by falling automobile and help-wanted classified sales, an industry group said.

The decline marks the first time that combined print and online spending fell since the Newspaper Association of America began measuring such revenue in 2004.

The drop, which follows several quarters of small gains in ad spending, highlights the problems that publishers face as advertisers chase readers who increasingly are getting information from a variety of other media.