Publishers and media groups that started restructuring their businesses before the economic downturn will be able to better weather the economic storm, and be better equipped to adapt to new challenges in the future, according to a new study by advisory firm Ernst & Young, journalism.co.uk reported Wednesday.

"Advertisers will be quicker to increase adspend during the recovery this time around," the report stated. "With advertising rates expected to fall throughout 2009, with the recovery, many advertisers will see some traditional platforms as good value for money."

The report predicts national titles and niche consumer magazines will do well, while regional newspapers, commercial TV and radio would be most affected, as they are more likely to rely on more traditional advertising.

The report added that investing in digital media will be key to survival. However, with the economic downturn affecting digital media as well, investing in an online business at an "offline" price may be the way to go, the report states, according to journalism.co.uk.

B2B titles in particular will benefit from subscription-based models, but it remains to be seen whether they can maintain these revenues in 2009 2010, according to Ernst & Young, which added that titles specialising in retail, construction, finance and automotive sectors will see the most difficulty.