Weak numbers at Tribune

August revenue for the parent company of the Los Angeles Times fell 1.6 percent from a year earlier. Ad revenue at Tribune papers was down 2.3 percent, although a lot of that was due to the loss of preprint customers at Newsday. Exclude that and ad revenue was down 1 percent. But the elephant in the room was national advertising - down 11 percent due to "weakness across most categories." Nothing specific in the August report about the Times.

Here's a breakdown on ad categories:

Retail +1.3%
National -11%
Auto classified -14%
Help wanted -9%
Real estate +22%
Online +22%

Tribune shares were down this morning.