Publishing, ad revenues down at Tribune and JRC

Publishing revenues at the Tribune Co., parent company of the Hartford Courant, dropped 6.1 percent in August to $271 million from $288 million at the same time last year. Advertising revenues were down 7.2 percent to $210 million in the same time period. Circulation also felt a crunch, with a nearly 5 percent dip. Similarly, the Journal Register Co., which owns many papers in the state, including the New Haven Register, the Middletown Press and the New Britain Herald, experienced revenue drops. Total revenues at the company were down 7.8 percent, to $35.3 million in August from $38.3 million the year before. Ad revenues plummeted 9.6 percent to $26.9 million from $29.7 million in 2006. Circulation numbers at JRC were stable.