The M&A activity for the media/marketing/information sector was cloudy for the first half of this year, but online and interactive services remain a bright spot, according to data compiled by The Jordan, Edmiston Group. The total number of transactions for media, information, marketing services and related technologies increased slightly to 404, versus 397 in the prior year, but deal value is down dramatically to $23.2 billion from $65.8 billion in the same period in 2007.

The main decline was in $1+ billion transactions: four in the first half of 2008 accounting for $9.6 billion in value, versus 11 deals worth $46.3 billion in the same period last year, including Thomson’s $18 billion acquisition of Reuters. Sub $1 billion market remains strong, though: 400 deals under $1 billion were announced, compared to 386 in the same period in 2007 and 350 in the first half of 2006.

This chart lays it out well; click on it for full view:

Update: Since it’s the first day of the new quarter, everyone’s coming out with their look back. Petsky Prunier figures there was total deal activity in the marketing, advertising and digital media industries worth $19.7 billion in the first half, down from $26.8 billion in the year-ago period. Of those, digital media was the big one, with 73 deals worth $6.3 billion. The following chart is interesting, showing the most active acquirers during the period (click to enlarge):

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