For the NY Times Co., a November to Forget

November was a real turkey for The New York Times Co.

Total revenues from continuing operations at the company declined 13.9 percent year-over-year last month, the company just announced. Ad revenue fell 20.9 percent thanks to softness in the automotive, entertainment and financial services categories. (So much for the idea that battered Wall Street firms are actually spending more to reassure their customers).

Ad revenues at the Times Co.'s internet businesses, including nytimes.com, fell 3.8 percent, a far cry from the double-digit growth they were recording in the first half of the year. No wonder Arthur Sulzberger decided now was the moment to squeeze some cash out of the paper's beautiful new headquarters building.

One bright spot was circulation revenues, which were up 4.2 percent. But that presumably had a lot to do with the phenomenal sales of the Nov. 5 edition of the Times and other newspapers -- hardly the sort of thing the company can count on to shore up its bottom line going forward.