Free Republic

More than $10bn in advertising disappeared from US media markets in the first six months of this year, according to new data that show intense pressure on media owners and ad agencies as they search for other business models. Preliminary figures from Nielsen show a 15.4 per cent year-on-year decline in US advertising revenues, the largest drop for any period in the decade since the marketing and media measurement group began compiling such reports. The study showed sharp differences in the behaviour of different media and product categories, with cable television the only medium on which ad spend increased, up...

ERLANGER, Ky. (AP) -- The fatal crash of a Comair regional jet Sunday morning dealt an emotional blow to a commuter airline trying to emerge from bankruptcy. "These are tough things and it's very difficult," Comair president Don Bornhorst said at a briefing in a hotel near Comair headquarters in northern Kentucky. Choking up at times, Bornhorst said he was "emotionally devastated" and said he's certain all of Comair's 6,400 employees share those feelings. Bornhorst, a 15-year aviation industry veteran, pledged that the carrier would do all it could to help with the investigation of the crash while also keeping...

LONDON, June 15 (Reuters) - Moody's Investors Servicecut its credit rating on Tribune Co. (TRB.N: Quote, Profile, Research) one notch on Thursday, sending its debt to "junk", because of the U.S. publisher's plans to increase its debt load to return cash to shareholders. The publisher and broadcaster's plan to buy back stock had already prompted downgrades from Moody's, and rivals Standard & Poor's and Fitch Ratings to the lowest level of investment grade at the end of May. In a statement, Moody's said it cut its rating on Tribune to Ba1 from Baa3 and assigned a stable outlook. The downgrade...

Air America, the liberal radio counterpart to Rush Limbaugh, is now asking its listeners to send in money, leading some analysts to say the network is "crumbling." The network, featuring voices including Al Franken and Janeane Garofalo, has developed a program where people become "associate" members by contributing cash.

Publisher Knight Ridder Inc. on Thursday said quarterly earnings fell 14 percent due to circulation declines, while rival Tribune Co. relied on cost cutting to help it post higher profits. Circulation declines at both media companies underscored the problems the industry has faced in subscription drives since do-not-call lists began blocking telemarketers. At the same time, more readers are getting their news from new media such as the Internet rather than traditional newspapers.