The subprime mortgage crisis is tearing through the newspaper industry as US papers suffer sharp falls in real estate advertising. The extent of the damage was visible this month when Tribune Company, which owns the Los Angeles Times and Chicago Tribune, reported a 40 per cent decline in November for its real estate classified advertising revenues. Gannett, the largest chain, said recently it was on track for a 27 per cent drop in real estate advertising for the fourth quarter after reporting a 23 per cent slide in the third quarter. Edward Atorino, an analyst at Benchmark Capital, said: “It’s...
