Dow Jones & Co yesterday reported a 7.2 per cent drop in July advertising revenue at the Wall Street Journal's print edition.
Revenue at Dow Jones, which is being sold to Rupert Murdoch's News Corp, fell on a 20.9 per cent drop in ad volume compared with July 2006, reflecting the shift of advertising to the Internet and other media.
Financial ad volume rose, but could not compensate for declines in technology, classified and general advertising, Dow Jones said.
International print advertising revenue fell 9.5 per cent in July on a 16.2 per cent decrease in advertising pages, it said.
Dow Jones's local newspaper group reported a 9.3 per cent drop in ad sales on a 16.5 per cent decline in volume. Mr Murdoch said last week that he plans to sell the papers once he buys Dow Jones.
Mr Murdoch has reportedly considered several ideas for augmenting Dow Jones's electronic initiatives, including possibly making the Journal's website free and supported by advertising rather than subscriptions.