A recent Goldman Sachs report confirms what publishers trying to streamline operations and cuts costs already know: 2005 was the worst year ever for the industry.
Stories in E&P and MediaPost report the 2005 is ground zero for lowered ad revenues, weak classifieds, and softness across all markets and most properties.
Interestingly, 2004's Scarborough Research Report conducted for the Newspaper Association of America and the NAA's related benchmark report found that "Eight out of 10 (77.8 percent) adults 18+ in the top 50 markets are reading the newspaper over the course of a week (five weekdays plus a Sunday)." An October 2005 NAA report says "three out of four (77 percent) adults in the top 50 markets read a newspaper at least once a week, or 115.6 million readers in those markets" and "analysis also confirms the strong spending power of newspapersÂ’ audiences by showing that in the top 50 markets nearly 60 percent of consumers with household incomes of $75,000 and above read a daily paper."
However, reading this week's dismal forecasts, one wonders which particular ostriches spent a little too much time in Pollyanna land.