[randog]

I suspect the severe downturn in automotive sales is the instant cause,in that car ads seem to have made up a huge portion of the total ads.

I have an aunt that used to be a newspaper editor ("used to be" is the operative phrase here; she bailed out of the industry a few months ago. She made no bones about it--the writing is on the wall, she said). Anyway, she told me that yes, auto ads are a large portion of a local newspaper's income.

[sinanju]

Craigslist.com is their doom then.

Far more efficient for that sort of thing.

The newspaper world always collectively shakes their fists and swears never to change their politics. Maybe they’ll be doing a “Page Six” with nude cuties before it’s all over.