newspaper decline

Lee Enterprises, Inc. – owner of the Quad City Times and Dispatch/Argus – hopes increasing digital advertising and subscription revenues will eventually offset the steady decline in the media company's print ad and subscription revenue.

But the latest quarterly report shows the difficulty in jumping from print to online revenue streams.

The company lost $16.9 million for the first quarter as print ad revenues plunged more than 19 percent compared to the same period a year ago. A year ago, the company lost $1.6 million during the first quarter.