The Chicago Sun-Times reported sharply lower paid circulation while the New York Times says its fourth-quarter earnings are expected to fall sharply, reported the Wall Street Journal.

The Journal reported that the Chicago Sun Times announced a 21 percent drop in average weekday circulation for the six-month period ended in March 2005.

"Especially compared to the many other paid print circulation and earnings drops being reported, these dramatic figures illustrate what we've increasingly been seeing in the marketplace. Advertisers are following consumers online. That's why, to our way of thinking, this is less about all the bad news from newspapers, and more about which newspapers will begin to assert their premium brands online - and how quickly and strategically they'll do it," says Shawn Riegsecker, president, Centro.