In reporting their respective Q1 earnings, newspaper companies have been able to point to at least one general bright spot over the past few quarters: online ad revenue increases, mostly from online classifieds. But as the earnings for the NYTCO, Gannett and Tribune have shown, interactive ad dollars are not growing as expected (Dow Jones and the smaller Journal Register Company represent the exceptions). And as WaPO prepares to release its Q1 earnings, the CEO of its online division tells the WSJ that online ad growth is slowing across the board. The outlook for newspapers this quarter, according to the WSJ piece:

-- Online ad spending for newspapers will likely fall to a percentage in the low 20s this year from 28 percent last year, Borrell Associates estimates, reflecting a broader trend, as EMarketer predicts the overall growth of U.S. online-ad revenue will slow to 18.9 percent this year from 30.8 percent last year. It predicts newspapers will do slightly better.

-- Competition from TV stations’ and magazines’ websites represents a new challenge, with outlets in those categories stepping up their digital efforts, as we reported last week. Other challenges are coming from sites like MySpace’s recently launched news feature. Also, advertisers are taking blogs and newsgroups more seriously, says one digital ad agency exec.

-- The areas that have so far proved strongest for newspapers – banner ads, pop-ups and listings – are losing ground to forms like search marketing, which provide better targeting and measurement.

-- Some publishers worry that entering into deals like the Yahoo Newspaper Consortium, which announced its expansion last week, will reduce their control over their newspaper advertising initiatives.

-- Primarily, it seems that marketers need more convincing when it comes to moving their ad dollars online. A survey of 273 U.S. advertisers last year found that 67 percent of the companies with annual revenue of $500 million or more will dedicate less than $1 million to online ads, according to JupiterResearch.

• — Earnings: NYTCO 1Q: Profit, Revenue Down; Internet Revenue Up 21.6 Percent, ‘07 Forecast Lowered
• — Earnings: Gannett 1Q Revenues Come In Flat, Profits Down Slightly
• — Earnings: Tribune’s 1Q Revenue, Profit Decline, While Interactive Classifieds Were Positive
• — Earnings: DJ 1Q07 Online Ad Revenue Up 30 Percent; Change Pushes WSJ.com Circ Up 20 Percent
• — Earnings: Newspaper Sell-Offs, Online Operations Boost Journal Register