2005 Annual Report - Online Economics

Looking deeper into the economics of newspaper Web sites can provide a useful yardstick for the economic health of the Web. Newspapers, both national and local, were quick to embrace the Web, partly because of the ease of turning the printed word into the electronic word.

Public newspaper companies, whose financial information is more available than that of private companies, report major growth in their online properties. Over all, for the nine newspaper companies analyzed by Borrell Associates, 2003 online revenue was up 34% from 2002.¹⁰

Online Revenues for Select Newspaper Companies, 2003

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Source: Borrell Associates, ‘‘What Local Web Sites Earn,’’ May 2004

*Includes revenue from non-newspaper related sites, such as television Web site revenues and other Web ventures.

In the first half of 2004, that growth continued, with public-company revenues up anywhere from 21% to 57% over the first two quarters of 2003.¹¹

Online Revenue for Select Newspaper Companies

Data from first six months of 2004

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Source: Borrell Associates, unpublished data, August 2004

*Gannett figure is based on an estimate.