Today’s news includes a story regarding the calamitous decline in print revenue for U.S. newspapers and the rise in on-line ad revenue which cushioned the fall. The story further details that classified ad print revenue also fell. This should be no surprise. As I posted yesterday, the revolution is over. The newspaper reading habit is not catching on with those younger than 45, and even those who read newspapers read less. It’s interesting to see who reads the newspapers.

Where I believe the analysts are incorrect is stating that the declines are due to the implosion of the housing industry. I was a vice president of marketing for a southeastern volume builder. Prior to that, I counseled national volume homebuilders such as D.R. Horton in South Carolina and Charlotte, North Carolina on their advertising and marketing. As such, I stayed out of newsprint, except for high end luxury properties and age targeted properties.

First time buyers and move up home buyers don’t turn to the dailies for their information. However, if I wanted to sell a new drug to some greater than 65 years of age with a greater than $75K income, I’d advertise that drug in my local daily.

Where did the classified revenue go? Why to Craig’s List? Why pay when you can post for free? Google, Trulia, Yahoo!, and Zillow all allow the user to list specific properties for sale or rent.

It’s a one-to-one world now.

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