US: Time users spend on top 30 newspapers sites decreased since July 2007

Ed: Newspapers have small gains from online revenues; but online use is growing 33% yoy; newspapers losing share; and time spent per user. Of course, legacy revenue from print is eroding rapidly.

US: Time users spend on top 30 newspapers sites decreased since July 2007

from editorsweblog

The average time spent per person on nearly half of top 30 US newspaper websites in July 2008 has decreased year-on-year, according to Nielsen Online data. 

The figure for the Houston Chronicle increased from 14 minutes to 25 minutes and from 12 minutes to 16 minutes for the San Francisco Chronicle/SFGate.com. Growth was also seen atNYTimes.com, USAToday.com and the Wall Street Journal website. 

The average time spent per person at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution site dropped from 23 minutes to 10 minutes and from 18 minutes to 9 minutes at Boston.com.

From Editor and Publisher, here is a list of average time spent per person in July 2008 on newspaepr sites, ranked by the number of unique visitors per site:

Time per Person (mm:ss) July 2008 vs. July 2007

NYTimes.com -- 32:03 -- 27:21
USATODAY.com -- 16:17 -- 11:48
washingtonpost.com -- 14:31 -- 17:55
LA Times -- 07:39 -- 08:26
Wall Street Journal Online -- 18:28 -- 12:17

New York Post -- 08:13 -- 09:00
Boston.com -- 09:01 -- 18:37
SFGate.com/San Francisco Chronicle -- 16:04 -- 12:17
Daily News Online Edition -- 05:18 -- 05:04
Atlanta Journal-Constitution -- 09:55 -- 23:09

Ottaway Newspapers -- 03:34 -- 06:13
Chicago Tribune -- 08:11 -- 15:55
Newsday -- 03:29 -- 03:30
International Herald Tribune -- 02:39 -- 01:48
Chicago Sun-Times -- 07:04 -- 06:32

The Houston Chronicle -- 25:21 -- 14:20
Politico -- 06:56 -- 06:14
DallasNews.com - The Dallas Morning News -- 04:50 -- 03:29
NJ.com -- 06:09 -- 08:21
Village Voice Media -- 04:58 -- 04:45

Philly.com -- 05:27 -- 06:58
The San Diego Union-Tribune -- 05:33 -- 04:44
MercuryNews.com -- 03:49 -- 04:32
Seattle Post-Intelligencer -- 14:48 -- 13:02
Baltimore Sun -- 09:43 -- 10:20

Star Tribune -- 36:39 -- 22:36
Kentucky.com -- 02:02 -- NA
Boston Herald -- 05:35 -- 05:15
The Detroit News -- 09:35 -- 14:09
OregonLive.com -- 04:27 -- 08:46

Newspaper Roundup: AP; McClatchy; Media General

from paidContent.org by David Kaplan

-- AP: As expected, some newspapers are pulling out following the much-discussed rate changes for the co-op. At the same time, even papers getting a rate break are looking at the AP as one place where they can save costs. The Spokesman-Review is trying to decamp before its required two-year notice the paper would save $32,000 a year but wants to drop the nearly $400,000 spent annually. E&P has the details. AP's Sue Cross tells E&P so far the number is "pretty small" and that "positive feedback has outweighed the negative."

-- McClatchy: Another rough month for The McClatchy Company (NYSE: MNI), as July revenues fell 16.4 percent on ad revs that were down 19.3 percent. The only bright spot: a 12.8 percent gain in online ad dollars. McClatchy is one of the few newspaper companies lately not to experience a slowdown on online ads: in July 2007, the company posted web ad growth of 8.4 percent. Looking at the past seven months, total McClatchy revs declined 15 percent as ad sales slid 16.5 percent.Internet ads grew 11.7 percent during that same period, thanks to strength from online national ads (up 160 percent), though online job ads fell 27.1 percent . Release

-- Media General: Revenues at the Interactive Media Division rose a tepid 5.7 percent, boosted by higher local ads—up 47 percent—and revenues from the March acquisition of DealTaker.com. July's online gains were striking compared to Media General's (NYSE: MEG) interactive rev growth for the same month last year, when ads grew 37.4 percent. Still, it wasn't enough to offset a 13.8 percent decline in total revs, held down by weakness on the classified side, which was down 32.5 percent. Release