Weak ad spending in '07

This is not the best news for folks who rely on advertising for their livelihoods, but here 'tis: Ad spending will grow a mere 2.6 percent this year, according to TNS Media Intelligence. That would be the smallest gain since the 2001 recession. Online advertising will continue to see the strongest growth, attracting 7.2 percent of all ad dollars, compared with 6.5 percent last year (still pretty limited in total revenues). Meanwhile, newspapers are expected to be down 0.9 percent. Some of that decline is being attributed to Internet spending. “For every dollar of ad spending that doesn’t go into traditional print because it moved to digital, the newspaper digital product picked up 50 cents. As the digital piece of newspapers expands, we will see a greater portion of that dollar captured on the digital side,” said TNS CEO Steven Fredericks. Here's the lineup for '07:

1. Internet +13.4%
2. TV syndication +6.6%
3. Outdoor +5.7%
4. Consumer/Sunday magazines 5.5%
5. Spanish-language media +5.4%
6. Cable network TV +4.7%
7. Business-to-business magazines +2.1%
8. Radio +1.7%
9. Network TV +06%