Proof, again, that there is a God: horrible movies hurting horrible newspapers:

NEWSPAPER publishers are facing a potential Hollywood problem.

Movie studios have significantly increased their ad spending in newspapers in recent years, but with shrinking ticket sales and an array of new places to advertise, that trend may be tapering off.

And if the current decline in ticket sales proves to be structural, not cyclical, it could become a big problem, not just for the studios but for the newspapers, too.

"We are off to a sluggish start this year," said Cathy B. Coffey, vice president for advertising at Cox Newspapers, part of Cox Enterprises and publisher of The Atlanta Journal—Constitution and The Austin American—Statesman in Texas, among other newspapers. "It would mirror what studios have felt."

"We need a wakeup call for the newspaper industry and the studios to sit down and really figure this one out, because we are so valuable to each other," Ms. Coffey added.

Ed Lasky   5 16 05