by: Alan D. Mutter | Reflections of a Newsosaur

Preprint advertising, a long-reliable source of business that represents a quarter of the remaining revenue for the struggling newspaper industry, is at greater risk than ever before, owing to a perfect storm of challenges. 

Representing some $5.2 billion a year in sales in 2011, advertising inserts from companies like Best Buy, Target, Kohl’s, Home Depot and Kmart represent the second largest revenue stream left to an industry that has lost half of its sales since revenues peaked at $49.4 billion in 2005. The only bigger revenue source for publishers are the local retail ads carried in the pages of their print editions.