On The Call: NY Times CEO Janet Robinson

The newspaper industry's advertising sales have been sliding at a rapid rate, pulled down by the worst recession in 70 years and a marketing shift to less expensive alternatives on the Internet.

Now that the economy appears to be getting a little better, analysts are wondering how much advertising might return to newspapers' classified sections, one of publishers' biggest moneymakers. New York Times. Co. CEO Janet Robinson shared her thoughts on the subject during a Thursday conference call with analysts.

QUESTION: Do you have any sense on how much of the classified business that has fallen off is a permanent shift away from the paper product or how much may return in a better economic environment?

RESPONSE: I think there will be a modest economic turn when the economic winds turn in our favor...I also think the partnerships that we have struck with many of the recruitment real estate and automotive Web sites will also be positive for us and for others in the industry.