A tale of two media: One getting richer, another not

The corporations owning two of the nation’s most influential newspapers — The New York Times and the Wall Street Journal — reported second-quarter profit declines this week.

Chief among the reasons: a sluggish print advertising market. Owners of stock in The New York Times Co. will make 42 cents a share, down from 50 cents a year ago. Dow Jones and Co. stockholders get 41 cents a share. (Part of the profit decline here was a one-time charge for leaving a programming agreement with CNBC.)

But Google stockholders will get an adjusted $1.37 a share, well above analysts’ expectations of $1.21.

Says Times Co. chief executive Janet L. Robinson: “As has been the case throughout the year, there are considerable differences among categories of print advertising.”

Says Dow Jones’ chair and CEO, Peter R. Kann: “Our results continue to be adversely affected by declines in business-to-business advertising in our print publishing segment, a situation we see improving in the third quarter.”

Eric Schmidt, Google’s chief, speaks a touch more plainly: “Our advertisers are getting better results, and so the prices they pay us are better.”

Translation: Web advertising good, print advertising bad.

Let’s review this in three months — when third-quarter figures arrive.

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