Inverted pyramid scheme

The numbers are out and, well, they're not good. The largest drop in advertising revenue in nearly 60 years, reports Editor and Publisher:

According to new data released by the Newspaper Association of America, total print advertising revenue in 2007 plunged 9.4% to $42 billion compared to 2006 -- the most severe percent decline since the association started measuring advertising expenditures in 1950.

Figure in online ads and the numbers improve only slightly:

Total advertising revenue in 2007 -- including online revenue -- decreased 7.9% to $45.3 billion compared to the prior year.

The CEO of the Newspaper Association of America offers these comforting words.

"Even with the near-term challenges posed to print media by a more fragmented information environment and the economic headwinds facing all advertising media, newspapers publishers are continuing to drive strong revenue growth from their increasingly robust Web platforms," John Sturm, president and CEO of the NAA, said in a statement.

If recent history is any guide, most newspaper owners will react to these numbers by cutting staff and lowering quality in the hopes they can turn this dangerous trend around.