The New York Times Expects Low Print Ad Sales

The more things change, the more they stay the same. We wish we were quoting from “The More Things Change,” by 80’s hair band Cinderella, but unfortunately, we’re not. We’re talking about The New York Times Company’s announcement this morning that print ad sales for the fourth quarter are expected to decline by 4 percent from last year. Despite sales being higher overall from the third quarter, the outlook is bleak:

The Company expects higher year-over-year newsprint prices in the fourth quarter to negatively affect operating expenses by approximately $13 million.

Of course the reason print ad sales are falling is that no one is reading the paper: The Company estimates that revenue derived from circulation will drop by 5 percent in the fourth quarter as well. The one bright spot – as has been the case for awhile now – is that digital ad sales are expected to grow by approximately 10 percent during this time.

If you’re a regular Times reader, and this announcement depresses you, we humbly suggest you either buy more papers from your local bodega, or just click on the Cinderella link and drift off to a time when newspapers were still profitable and men with bangs ruled the airwaves.

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