Could Local Web Ads Breathe Life into Newspapers?
by Len Muscarella, President All of the hand-wringing over the Internets impact on the newspaper industry over the last decade ignores the truth that newspaper readership and revenues have been in a steady decline since the 1960s. Back then, it was television that was to blame for the closing of newspapers. When the Internet happened in the mid-90s, it only accelerated the decline. Newspapers were slow to adapt, but now nearly all have vibrant, aggressive Web sites. And there are signs that local Web ad revenues are beginning to replace the losses in print. Nowhere is that more important than in New Jersey, with its rich tradition of dozens of local daily and weekly newspapers. And it even creates opportunities for your business to advertise. Newspaper readership, as measured by circulation, was stagnant for 30 years before the Internet became a commercial medium. According to the Newspaper Association of America (www.naa.org), daily paid newspaper circulation in the U.S. broke the 60
