Credit agency points to structural newspaper ad fall

Yet another bleak prognostication for the US newspaper industry comes from the credit assessment agency Fitch Ratings. It argues that the outlook for the print sector is worse than it forecast at the beginning of the year. Then Fitch warned that weakness in high-margin classified advertising would result in soft revenues and pressure on profits. Now Fitch suggests the malaise is structural rather than cyclical. That is borne out by the second quarter ad revenues, down 8.6% compared with the same three-month period a year ago. (Via WARC/Yahoo)