A new report from ZenithOptimedia predicts a steep decline in North America and Western Europe, as businesses look for more ways to cut costs. The forecast says that internet will be the only medium to grow this year, with most of its growth coming from search advertising.

The Weekly says it will be linking to stories from the Seattle Post Globe, and the new site will be doing the same with Weekly stories. In addition, the alt-weekly's sales staff will be selling ads on the new site. More on the Seattle Post Globe from the Seattle Times.

Steve Brill and his partners say they're building an automated system to allow newspapers and magazines to charge for online access, including a subscription that would allow access to multiple publications.

Industry executives and analysts tell the New York Times that many large papers will be reporting the sharpest drop ad revenue in generations as they begin to release first-quarter results this week. Small papers aren't faring quite as badly as large ones, according to the Times, and there is a hope among publishers that losses for the rest of 2009 will not be as steep as the first quarter's.

"Despite reforms enacted by Congress and an order from the last administration to do a better job, federal agencies continue to give those seeking information a frustrating and oftentimes unsatisfying experience," according to a quantitative review by the Sunshine in Government Initiative of federal agency FOIA reports.