Q3 may be a tough time for the New York Times Co., with its total revenue falling 10.1 percent to US$235.9 million in July, paidContent reported.

Ad revenue in July dropped 16.2 percent, and was weak across all categories.

The Internet, which used to be a “bright spot,” is in a severe recession. Internet ad revenues at the News Media Group only increased 0.9 percent, mostly due to the weakness in online recruitment, according to paidContent.

The company said growth in August is up in the low double digits, driven by improved display advertising on NYTimes.com.

The About Group kept on growing at a healthy rate, with revenue up 14.6 percent to $9.5 million, although the rate is a bit slower than that for most of the year, as YTD growth reached 17.4 percent, paidContent reported.

NYT Co.'s total online revenue, including About, rose 2.6 percent, comprising 12.5 percent of total revenue, up from 11 percent last year.