Media spending forecast to pass $1 trillion in '08

MEDIA SPENDING FORECAST TO PASS $1 TRILLION IN '08
[SOURCE: USAToday, AUTHOR: David Lieberman]
Consumers' growing interest in media will help to supercharge this sector of the economy as media spending from all sources in the USA passes the $1 trillion mark in 2008, according to a forecast out today from private-equity firm Veronis Suhler Stevenson. Media spending by consumers, advertisers, marketing services and institutions will rise an average of 6.7% a year from $942 billion in 2007 to $1.2 trillion in 2011, says the annual VSS Communications Industry Forecast, one of the industry's most widely cited resources. That will make media the third-fastest-growing part of the economy — after agriculture and the federal government — up from the period beginning in 2002, when the industry grew about 5.9% a year, good enough then for fifth place. Although corporations account for the lion's share of media spending, "the overall change in consumer … usage was the biggest surprise" this year, VSS Managing Director James Rutherfurd says.
http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/money/20070807/forecast07.art.htm