Who Fared Best (and Worst) in 2008?

In an especially challenging year, some media sectors managed to post profits and increase audiences. But most of the news business saw declines in both. Cable news was the big winner in 2008. With both ad revenue and audience gains of more than 25%, the three cable news channels stood far above other news media. Online news also showed growth in both areas, but display advertising, on which news largely depends, grew a mere 4% through the first three quarter of 2008, and was expected to show declines. And, except for very slight audience growth in audio, all other sectors saw declines in both ad spending and audience, with newspapers and print magazines faring worst.