Russ Steele
The Modesto Bee, Fresno Bee, and Sacramento Bee, are still in a red ink death spiral. It appears from the numbers that these papers will only be found on the Internet--real soon now!
Revenues in the first quarter of 2011 were $303.7 million, down 9.5 percent from the first quarter of 2010. Advertising revenues were $225.1 million, down 11 percent from 2010, and circulation revenues were $66.2 million, down 5 percent.
Digital advertising revenues grew 2.2 percent in the first quarter of 2011 and were 20.1 percent of total advertising revenues compared to 17.5 percent of total advertising revenues in the first quarter of 2010.
CA Political News has more on the story, but one has to wonder, why are these newspapers in such a steep decline? What is that is putting off readers and advertizers in these papers.

