One major reason that local and regional newspapers are suffering from a loss of advertising revenue is illustrated by a Brighton & Hove city council press release.
It tells residents that the cost of advertising council jobs has been slashed by moving from print to online - but bypassing newspaper websites.
In the release on its own website, the council says it spent £236,000 in 2009 on advertising jobs compared to £900,000 in 2006.
According to its official figures, the council says it costs over £2,000 to advertise a job in the press compared to just £500 using "job boards" – lists of available job titles that provide a web address for more information.
Managers claim though the move has not resulted in a drop in the quality of applicants, the quantity has increased. The average number of people responding to each job offer has gone up from 16 to 34.
The financial success has emboldened the city's council to agree plans with East Sussex county council and Sussex police to tender jointly for an agency to handle recruitment advertising.
They believe that the "increased buying power of the three combined bodies would help them negotiate a better deal."
Council leader Mary Mears said: "This is an example of the way we're being imaginative to get better value for money for taxpayers. By working more closely with other bodies we're sure there must be many more savings to be had in other areas."
A quick look at the public sector jobs page on the Brighton Argus shows the effect: no advert placement by the city council.
It may get worse (worse for the papers, of course, but better for taxpayers). The council says the system could spread further because there is interest in the initiative from other district councils in East Sussex, plus the Pensions Regulator and the new South Downs National Park authority.
Newspapers elsewhere should beware. It is hoped that councils in West Sussex, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Hampshire, the Isle of Wight, Kent, Oxfordshire and Surrey will follow Brighton council's lead.
