Belo Reports Soft May

By: E&P Staff Belo reported today that total revenue for May grew 0.7% compared to the same period a year ago.

Newspaper Group revenue at the company dropped 4.2% while ad revenue declined 6.9%. The company noted that this May had one less Sunday than May 2005. Adjusting for one less Sunday, ad revenue at the newspaper division slipped 1%.

At The Dallas Morning News, ad revenue decreased 3.2%. On a like-day basis, total revenue at the company grew 2.4%.

Classified revenue at the flagship newspaper dropped 12%. On a like-day basis, it was down 3.6%, with help wanted up 9.3%, real estate down 14% and automotive down 11%.

General full-run ad revenue declined 16% and retail slipped 15% on a reported basis.

At The Providence Journal, ad revenue dropped 7.8% with total revenue down 9.1%. On a like-day basis, total revenue was down 2.3% and advertising revenue increased slightly about 1%.

At The Press-Enterprise in Riverside, Calif., ad revenue was down 0.4% with total revenue down 2.2%. On a like-day basis, ad revenue increased just less than 1% and total revenue decreased 1%.