links for 2007-09-02

“After six straight quarters of accelerating declines, newspaper print advertising sales in the first half of this year fell to the lowest level in a decade, according to statistics released today by the Newspaper Association of America.”

Johnston Press chief exec Tim Bowdler on bringing 24-hour rolling news to local and regional papers: “Suddenly, we are in the business of breaking news again … That is something that we have not done for a while, and our journalists are loving it.”

AFP, one of more than 40 new organisations in dispute with the IRB over arrangements for covering the Rugby World Cup, threatened to pull out of reporting on the tournament.