It’s my sense from talking to AAN publishers that business has finally begun to stabilize. Although Q2 2009 didn’t exactly roar out of the chute, for most papers so far it has been much friendlier than Q1.

Same story here at AAN. The most recent evidence of the thaw is a 28-week AAN CAN run purchased yesterday by RealRentals.com, a new website operated by the folks at Roommates.com. RealRentals.com is an online marketplace that matches homeowners with renters.

Obviously, we’re thrilled anytime someone buys an extended run, but this ad, coming from one of our regular advertisers — Roommates.com has been advertising in AAN CAN for almost five years — is especially gratifying. It’s $25,000 that says that despite Craigslist and shrinking line-ad revenue, your classified sections still drive substantial business.

And so we end April with over $72,000 in AAN CAN revenue, which was our best month since January 2008.