Wireless Telecom and Best Ideas Luncheon Programs Announced

AH Belo (NYSE: AHC) (NYSE: BLC), the newspaper half of the old Belo Corp., saw its online revenues drop the last two consecutive quarters, but CEO Robert Decherd plans to address that by stressing more ad targeting and creating more separation between the selling of print and online. Speaking at day two of the three-day UBS Global Media and Communications (PDF) conference, Decherd said the company is also relying on its participation in the Yahoo (NSDQ: YHOO) Newspaper Consortium, which is expected to net AH Belo $1.1 million in incremental ad revenue. In addition to shifting away from print upsells and building up its online-only ad sales force, the publisher of the Dallas Morning News plans to broaden its ad base and focus more on small and mid-size businesses, as revenue tied to classifieds and auto dealers declines. Speaking of autos, AH Belo is also using software from ResponseLogix to manages local car dealers’ internet leads. Decherd noted that AH Belo has a separate sales force dedicated for the ResponseLogix program that is separate from its newspaper and website sales. Only 20- to 30 percent of online leads are being followed up by dealers, so as the auto industry continues its struggles, these kinds of services might be attractive (as long as the dealerships are still open, at least).

AH Belo (NYSE: AHC) (NYSE: BLC), the newspaper half of the old Belo Corp., saw its online revenues drop the last two consecutive quarters, but CEO Robert Decherd plans to address that by stressing more ad targeting and distancing the selling of print and online. Speaking at day two of the three-day UBS Global Media and Communications (PDF) conference, Decherd said the company is also relying on its participation in the Yahoo (NSDQ: YHOO) Newspaper Consortium, which is expected to net AH Belo $1.1 million in incremental ad revenue. In addition to shifting away from print upsells and building up its online-only ad sales force, the publisher of the Dallas Morning News plans to broaden its ad base and focus more on small and mid-size businesses, as revenue tied to classifieds and auto dealers declines. Speaking of autos, AH Belo is also using software from ResponseLogix to manages local car dealers’ internet leads. Decherd noted that AH Belo has a separate sales force dedicated for the ResponseLogix program that is separate from its newspaper and website sales. Only 20- to 30 percent of online leads are being followed up by dealers, so as the auto industry continues its struggles, these kinds of services might be attractive (as long as the dealerships are still open, at least).

Investors begged for a Belo Corp. spinoff. They got what they wanted, but should have been more careful about what they wished for.

The Huffington Post took $25 million in funding to set a $100 million valuation yesterday. AdAge's Michael Learmonth points out that makes the Internet's paper-less newspaper more valuable -- on paper, so to speak -- than quite a few of the kind printed on dead trees:

The funding means Arianna Huffington's news blog is now considered more valuable by its backers than quite a few publicly traded newspaper companies, such as Lee Enterprises (LEE), owner of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and 52 other papers (market cap: $36 million), A.H. Belo (AHC), owner of the Dallas Morning News and the Providence Journal (market cap: $35 million), and Media General (MEG), owner of the Tampa Tribune and Richmond Times-Dispatch (market cap: $34.6 million). It puts Huffington Post in the same league as McClatchy Corp. (MNI), owner of the Sacramento Bee, Miami Herald and 28 other dailies (market cap: $150 million).

See Also:
Newspapers Prepare To Make Savage Cost Cuts (NYT)

Photo: DRB62

EW Scripps (NYSE: SSP), one of the rare newspaper publishers to report negative interactive ad revenues in Q2, is trying for a quick turnaround. NYT has an overview of the Cincinnati-based company’s plans, including altering the commission structure for online ads, reducing the reliance on convergent print/web ad sales and expanding its universe of advertisers to smaller and more local marketers. In addition, Scripps is counting on Yahoo’s new APT ad delivery and targeting system to boost revenues, which slumped 8 percent in Q2. The company reports Q3 earnings Friday.  -- The four-year goal: If all goes as Rusty Coats, VP for interactive, projects, Scripps will sell enough ads to support the staff and costs of the print and online newsrooms by 2012—all without the job cuts that have become a near-daily occurrence in the newspaper industry. In order for online to start producing more revenue, Scripps believes the incentives have to change for online ads. More after the jump. -- New commitment: As we detailed back in July, Scripps began experimenting with different approaches, such as trying to inspire more online ad sales activity at papers like the Corpus Christi Caller-Times by tying deals to commissions. At Scripps’ Knoxville News Sentinel, about 95 percent of the sales team’s bonuses depend on print. The Sentinel will reduce that to 70 percent by raising commissions for online ads. And while the paper will hire staffers who will focus solely on online ads, the publisher is setting up a telemarketing unit that will conduct outreach to smaller businesses. -- Getting smaller, more local: One of the reasons that newspapers have failed to catch the wave of local online ad growth has been their reliance on “upsells.” By trying to get their usual client base of department stores and auto dealers to spend more on the newspaper websites as well, papers have tended to ignore smaller businesses like pizza delivery and plumbers. Scripps has started that shift away from print upsells earlier this year. As a result, Scripps says online-only revenue is up 30 percent. As for bringing in telemarketers to attract those smaller advertisers, the idea is starting to catch on at other papers that have been struggling online lately, like Dallas-based AH Belo (NYSE: AHC) (NYSE: BLC), which said last week that Q3 online revenues fell 19 percent. 

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Major indices closed up the week here the details:
Nasdaq 0,7%
Dow Jones 1,4%
S&P 500 1,4%

Here The Weekly Movers:

GAINERS
North American Energy Partners Inc.(USA) (NOA)
AsiaInfo Holdings, Inc. (ASIA)
Alliance One International, Inc. (AOI)
Possis Medical, Inc. (POSS)
FARO Technologies, Inc. (FARO)
Canadian Solar Inc. (CSIQ)
LOSERS
A. H. Belo Corporation (AHC)
NxStage Medical, Inc. (NXTM)
PNM Resources, Inc. (PNM)
Zoltek Companies, Inc. (ZOLT)
Aftermarket Technology Corp. (ATAC)
Brown & Brown, Inc. (BRO)