Newspaper Publishers NAICS 513110
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Industry Summary
The 3,600 newspaper publishers in the US produce and distribute news and other content in print or electronic form. Firms earn revenue primarily from selling advertising space and subscriptions. Large firms may operate as media conglomerates and publish or broadcast content across multiple platforms, including electronic media, magazines, television, or radio. Large firms may own multiple newspapers across the country; some operate internationally.
Competition for Ad Dollars
In the increasingly fragmented world of media, newspapers compete for advertising dollars with a variety of alternative sources, including TV, magazines, direct mail, radio, the Internet and billboards.
Long Decline for Traditional Print Business
The newspaper publishing industry has been in long-term decline, driven by the rise of the Internet and digital media.
Recent Developments
Mar 13, 2025 - Challenging Year Ahead
- Many newspaper publishers are concerned about advertising revenue that leveled off or decreased in late 2024 and hasn’t picked up much in 2025, according to Brier Dudley, editor of The Seattle Times Save the Free Press Initiative. Readers remain loyal, however, and subscription levels are steady due to strong community support, according to publishers contacted by Dudley. Growing digital subscriptions is the big hope and may offset weakness in other parts of the business.
- Traffic from Google Discover now exceeds traffic from Google Search for some publishers, according to social analytics platform Chartbeat. Traffic from social media has decreased by a third since January 2023, from 6% of all traffic then to 4% of all traffic now. Search traffic, still dominated by Google search, has remained relatively steady since January 2023. Google Discover — the Google product offering personalized content recommendations via Google’s mobile apps — is increasingly a top referrer, up 13% across Chartbeat clients since January 2023.
- Nearly half of US residents who don’t pay for local news cite its free availability elsewhere as the main reason, according to a Pew-Knight Initiative survey. Only 15% of the survey respondents said that they had paid for local news in the past year, approximately the same proportion as in 2018. A third of the non-payers said they were simply not interested enough in local news to pay for it in the first place.
- Newspaper publishing industry employment and average wages for nonsupervisory employees increased slightly during the first month of 2025, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. Personal consumption expenditures, an indicator of demand for newspapers, increased moderately during 2024, according to the US Bureau of Economic Analysis.
Industry Revenue
Newspaper Publishers
Industry Structure
Industry size & Structure
The average newspaper publisher operates out of a single location, employs 32 workers, and generates about $6.4 million annually.
- The newspaper publishing industry consists of about 3,600 firms that employ about 115,000 workers and generate $23 billion annually.
- The industry is concentrated; the top 50 companies account for 74% of industry revenue.
- The industry includes national publications, market-level publications, and community newspapers.
- Large companies include News Corporation (Wall Street Journal, New York Post), Gannett (USA Today, Detroit Free Press), Advance Publications (Star Ledger, Cleveland Plain Dealer), McClatchy Company (Miami Herald, Sacramento Bee), and the New York Times.
- The top daily newspapers (based on circulation) include the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and the New York Post.
Industry Forecast
Industry Forecast
Newspaper Publishers Industry Growth
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