Soft Economy Speeds Newspaper Decline and Newsroom Job Cuts

SAN FRANCISCO - The newspaper industry is cutting jobs at the fastest pace in decades as the weak economy accelerates the flight of advertising to the internet, with more than 5,000 newsroom and business-side positions eliminated this year alone.

The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post and dozens of smaller dailies have all announced layoffs or buyouts this year. Several major papers have shrunk their physical pages or consolidated sections.

Print advertising revenue has fallen for eight consecutive quarters, and the decline is steepening as the real estate bust guts classified advertising — once newspapers' most lucrative franchise — and retailers cut back inserts.

The paradox is that the audience for newspaper journalism has never been larger: newspaper Web sites drew record traffic during the Olympics and the political conventions. The problem is that online ads sell for a fraction of print.

"We are the most-read we've ever been and the poorest we've ever been," a metro editor at a Midwestern daily said. "Everyone in this business is trying to solve that equation before the runway runs out."

Analysts now openly debate which major American city will be the first without a daily newspaper.

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Associated Press writers contributed to this report.

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