US newspaper ad revenue down 7.3% in 2011

US newspaper advertising revenue fell 7.3 percent last year to $23.94 billion, according to figures released Thursday by the Newspaper Association of American, continuing a six-year slide. Print advertising revenue fell 9.2 percent to $20.69 billion compared with the previous year while online advertising revenue rose 6.8 percent to $3.25 billion, the NAA said. Print advertising revenue fell by 8.2 percent in 2010 while online ad revenue grew 10.9 percent. US newspaper advertising revenue has fallen every year since 2006 including a 27.2 percent drop in 2009. US newspapers have been grappling with declining print advertising revenue, eroding circulation and the migration of readers to free news on the Web, and online ad revenue growth has not kept pace with losses on the print side. A number of newspapers have begun charging readers for full online access in a bid to boost revenue. Major US newspapers charging readers online include The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Boston Globe and the Los Angeles Times.