Community newspapers' advertising revenue is declining at half the rate of the national average, according to the Suburban Newspapers of America, Editor & Publisher reported Friday.

On a second quarter, year-to-year analysis, advertising revenue at community papers fell 12.4 percent, while the average drop was 29 percent, according to the Newspaper Association of America.

An article on the survey by Media Post News showed that the average revenue drop for the second quarter had shown a slight increase from 28.2 percent. The survey analyzed total advertising revenue across 32 community newspapers with a circulation total of 12.5 million.

"Once again, I think the figures make it apparent that the newspaper industry in general is taking a harder economic hit than the community newspapers," Nancy Lane, president of SNA, said in a statement.