Creative Destruction

I've lost count of how many readers have sent me a copy of this graph.  It is indeed pretty striking.

The chart above displays total annual print newspaper advertising revenue based on actual annual data from 1950 to 2010, and estimated annual revenue for 2011 using quarterly data through the third quarter, from the Newspaper Association of America.  The advertising revenues have been adjusted for inflation, and appear in the chart as millions of constant 2011 dollars.  Estimated revenues of $20.7 billion in 2011 will be the lowest annual  amount spent on newspaper advertising since $19.5 billion in 1951, exactly 60 years ago.

The decline in newspaper ad revenues to a 60-year low is amazing by itself, but the sharp decline in recent years is pretty stunning.  Last year's ad revenues of about $21 billion were less than half of the $46 billion spent just four years ago in 2007, and less than one-third of the $64 billion spent in 2000.

And even when online advertising is added to the print ads, the combined total spending for print and online advertising in 2011 will still only be about $22.6 billion, just slightly more than  the $22.5 billion spent on print advertising in 1954.

Comments

[Tod]

When I was born (late 50s) my parents owned/ran/scratched by with a small town weekly newspaper in MN. I have a great love for news and newspapers.

The demise of the newspaper industry is sad, and greatly unfortunate.

Unfortunately, they are the victims of the rapid expansion of technology ... and (primarily) themselves.

[Peeves]

I smell toast.

[westsider]

I enjoy the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) American Newsdesk. Excellent international news coverage. No advertising either :)

[RonJ]

I seriously doubt, westsider, that you want a national newspaper paid for (and controlled) by the federal government. Or do you?

[Gilbert_Sundevil]

The scary part for the newspaper industry is what happens when we finally get rid of these silly laws that require "Public Notices" be printed on a dead tree. Complete collapse.