The dismal economy not only hit newspaper publisher Lee Enterprises (NYSE: LEE) on the print side, but even its online ad revenues fell in Q2. Online dropped 9.1 percent, Lee said, adding that combined print and digital revenues also fell 10 percent to $195.5 million. Also, combined same property print and national online ad revenue slid 21.2 percent. This is a striking turnabout from last year, when Davenport, Iowa, publisher of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch said online advertising grew 61.2 percent to $16.2 million from $10 million in Q206. Overall, the picture was not a pretty one for Lee, though not out of the ordinary for the industry these days: Q2 net income was $12.5 million down 44.2 percent from last year’s $22.4 million, while total operating revenue from continuing operations fell 8.3 percent year-over-year to $256.4 million.

Release