Lee Up 4% in May

By: E&P Staff Lee Enterprises reported today that advertising revenue for the month of May grew 4% compared with the same period last year.

Excluding the impact of acquisitions and divestitures, retail ad revenue increased 4.4%. National was up 2.8%. Classified advertising rose 2.5%, with employment and real estate up 14.4% and 12.7%, respectively. Auto declined 7.6%.

Niche publication revenue dropped 4.8% due mostly to the loss of a larger publication in one market. Online advertising revenue grew 28.3%. Circulation revenue decreased 2%.

On June 3, Lee acquired Pulitzer Inc. For the four-week fiscal period ending May 29, Pulitzer reported that advertising revenue rose 2.9% and total revenue grew 2%.

On a same property basis, advertising revenue in St. Louis increased 1.4% with total revenue up 1%. For Pulitzer's other newspapers, advertising revenue increased 4.6% and total revenue grew 2.9%.

In Tucson, Ariz., where Pulitzer participates in a joint operating agreement, advertising revenue rose 3.7% and total revenue was up 3.1%.