Spending on newspaper advertising increasing

The amount of money spent by advertisers with national newspapers rose 19 per cent to £50.2 million (€63.74 million) in the first three months of the year. Advertising agencies spent more than £30 million with the 11 national newspapers, a rise of of 26 per cent over the same period last year.

Classified advertising spending rose by 9 per cent to £20 million.

Mr Gavin O'Reilly, the chairman of the National Newspapers of Ireland, said the figures reflected a move by advertisers towards newspapers from other media.

"The NNI has consistently amplified the power of the newspaper as an advertising medium and this huge increase in spend confirms that, more and more, advertisers are recognising the inherent strengths of a growing and vibrant newspaper sector," said Mr O'Reilly.

Much of the increase in spending came from IT and telecommunications companies that are trying to build brands in order to take advantage of the promise of the Internet and other new media, he said.

"The bulk of the spend came from the so-called `old economy' sector," he added.