With classified revenue dwindling, the news industry must get better at tailoring articles and display advertising to online readers, several newspaper executives agreed Tuesday.

Papers must more aggressively “slice and dice” subject matter to readers’ specific interests, Leon Levitt, vice president of digital media for Cox Newspapers Inc., said during a panel discussion at the annual conference of the Newspaper organization of America.

“We’re at the early stages of doing that,” said Levitt, whose company, a unit of privately held Cox Enterprises Inc., owns 17 daily and 26 non-daily newspapers, including the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The Palm Beach Post in Florida and the Austin American-Statesman in Texas.

Newspapers faced with dwindling print advertising are turning more to the Net to prepare up for lost revenue. Overall newspaper advertising revenue last year fell 7.9 percent, including a 9.4 percent dip in print advertising that was offset partially by an 18.8 percent hike in online advertising, according to the newspaper organization.

Levitt said newspapers

are leaning most heavily on online display advertising, which is growing at a faster clip than classified advertising.

Other newspaper executives on the panel said the industry must first become more familiar with readers’ online behavior before they can deliver personalized substance and advertising.

Several executives said they’re developing multiple Web sites, blogs and other products to reach distinctive audiences.

Vivian Schiller, senior vice president and general manager of NYTimes.com, said The New York Times is a “strong believer” in creating multiple qualitys.

She said DealBook blog, which provides financial news, started as an e-mail newsletter service in 2001 and next plus became a Web site two years ago. The company additionally has a Great Homes and Destinations Web site that provides info about the luxury real estate sector.

She said despite the housing market’s current situation, there is “still an appetite for it,” she said.

Eleanor Cippel, director of…

Orginal post by Top Tech News