Free Republic

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- The recession officially ended five years ago last month, and an upturn in ad spending began the following May. But for media, the recovery has been ... depressing. To be sure, U.S. ad spending this year will reach a record $285 billion, estimates Robert J. Coen, senior VP-forecasting at Interpublic Group of Cos.' Universal McCann. But factor in inflation, and spending remains below its peak in the 2000 bubble ($290 billion). More troubling for media sellers (and good news for buyers), media have largely lost the ability to get easy growth by passing along rate hikes...

With Internet-like speed, blogs have gone from self-indulgent hobbies to flourishing businesses. Real businesses, with real revenue streams from real advertisers--not overhyped next big things with pick-a-number valuations based on selling out someday to some overenthusiastic big-media sugar daddy. Boing Boing, a four-person operation that bills itself as a directory of wonderful things, is on track to gross an estimated $1 million in ad revenue this year. The digital-media news site PaidContent.org, headquartered in the second bedroom of a Santa Monica apartment, is set to post even more than that. And Fark.com, a site packed with sophomoric humor run by...