Yesterday the Newspaper Association of America announced that newspaper ad revenue fell almost $2 Billion dollars in the third quarter of 08. You can read all of the gory details here.

The speed of the decline is suprising but the trend is not. Everyone involved with print advertising has seen this coming.

However, what is amazing is the lack of originality that most publications employ in trying to stem the tide. Almost everyday we read about a publication implementing cost cutting measures - sometimes in the form of layoffs, sometimes in the form of a re-formatting of the product.

It should be obvious to everyone now - publications can not cost cut their way out of this problem. To survive they need to reinvent their sales philosophy.

Here are just a few of the problems that must be addressed industry-wide:

1. Buying an ad is a difficult process. Advertisers don't need a "relationship" with a salesperson, they need results.
2. Pricing is inconsistent and, in many cases, illogical.
3. Publications make no effort to show advertisers that their ads are working. Simple tracking mechanisms like unique 800 numbers are almost unheard of, unless an advertiser implements it themselves.
   

At Mediabids.com, we have been talking to publications about these issues for the past 9 years. We have more than 15,000 advertisers who use our site to buy ads in more than 5,500 publications registered on our site using our online selling tools. Yet, everyday, we speak to a newspaper who is reluctant to try something new. The problem is - ADVERTISERS want something new - remember them? They are the ones spending the money.

Many advertisers don't want to buy print ads the way they did 50 years ago, they don't want to have to get to know a salesperson in order to find out what an ad costs and then negotiate to find out what it really costs. Other industries have successfully adopted new ways of interacting with their customers - like travel, banking and retail - newspapers must do the same. Mediabids is just one solution. Granted, we are biased, but we think it is the best option for newspapers to change their fortunes. But in order to change, publications must embrace new ideas. Too many people working at newspapers are resistent to changing anything, which is a luxury the industry can no longer afford.

The third quarter numbers from the NAA are clear: Time is up. The ship is sinking. If the industry does not embrace change now, we are all going to be swimming. So what are YOU going to do about it?