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RALEIGH, N.C. (AFX) - The News & Observer Publishing Co. has put off plans for a new headquarters in Raleigh because of the "uncertain advertising revenue climate," the newspaper's publisher said.
"This is disappointing news for us all -- we had hoped to see advertising rally and grow, and all of us have been excited about a new building for our evolving company," publisher Orage Quarles III wrote in e-mail to employees Tuesday.
The decision to delay construction is also based on competition for capital projects proposed by other newspapers owned by corporate parent The McClatchy Co., Quarles said.
"We don't need a building tomorrow," Quarles said in an interview. "Our building isn't falling down."
The News & Observer is the second-largest newspaper in North Carolina with a daily circulation of about 178,000. McClatchy, based in Sacramento, Calif., is the second-largest newspaper publisher in the nation with 32 dailies, including the (Minneapolis) Star Tribune, The Miami Herald and The Charlotte Observer.
The company doesn't break out ad revenue for individual papers, but ad revenue for its newspapers in the North Carolina and South Carolina rose 0.8 percent through June when compared with the same period a year earlier. That was below the 1.8 percent gain for all McClatchy papers during the same period.
Ad revenue at local newspapers across the country fell 3.9 percent during the first half of this year, according to TNS Media Intelligence.
The News & Observer sought proposals from developers this summer to build 130,000 square feet of offices on a nearly 3.6 acre site downtown. The building would allow the newspaper to put all of its downtown operations under one roof. Copyright 2006 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be
Copyright 2006 AFX News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
